3D Lab Print Cub - My first 3D printed plane

[Mr NCT]

use minwax over the lw pla, and then apply the decals

Did that work okay? Add much weight?

 

[Matthewdupreez]

Did that work okay? Add much weight?

so far i've done it once,
makes the finish smoother, and also a little stronger,
i 'haven't tried vinyl on it, but it def feels like it'll take now.
seen a lot of guys say with a layer of min wax it'll take vinyls,
not much heavier at all

 

[Mr NCT]

The weather was good yesterday and the Cub flew great with the recommenced set up. Here's lousy video of the first flight.

 

[ColoFlyer]

The weather was good yesterday and the Cub flew great with the recommenced set up. Here's lousy video of the first flight.

Nice!!!! It's the best flying 3D printed plane I have. I think the LW-Pla really makes a difference.

 

[Mr NCT]

I was surprised by how floaty it is. I chopped the power as I came over the fence and it still wanted to fly.

 

[dberg97]

Very nice. I'm currently printing.

 

[ARE]

I'm taking the plunge into 3D printed planes with one that, hopefully, goes smoothly. I have a Prusa MK4 so I started with 3D Lab Print since they work closely with Prusa and bought their filament bundle that has all the LW-PLA, Flexi Light, PETg and PolyAir to complete the plane. I figured why buy whole spools of this stuff if I wasn't sure I'd like it or be able to land well enough to keep it from shattering.

So far I haven't had any problems printing with the LW-PLA using 3D Lab's 3mf files and Prusa Slicer. I have gotten a lot of internal stringing in the fuselage and wing pieces but it cleaned out pretty easy with a long skewer. I tried printing two of the smaller parts, elevator parts, at the same time but the stringing between the parts was pretty bad so for me it's less hassle to print one at a time - I'm not in a big hurry.

Some things I've learned:

• The smooth PEI print sheet holds the LW-PLA fine but allows sharp points to pull up. For sharp points like trailing edges it's a good idea to use some sort of bed adhesive. I'm using Bed Weld and it keeps the points from pulling up.
• For long skinny parts like aileron sections put the long axis in line with the bed movement. I had a couple fail at the top of the print because they were crosswise, in line with the X axis, and wobbled when the bed, Y axis, moved.

I'm almost done with the LW.​

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Excellent work!.. I just finished assembling my MK4 and it is performing flawlessly, I must say quality is even better than my MK3S. Now, I have a bunch of 3DLabPrint planes that I've bought and a few boxes of LW-PLA. Can you share your PrusaSlicer settings you used on your MK4 that worked for you?, I'll give those a try. Did you use input shaping feature, does it work well with LW-PLA?

 

[To_many_planes]

I'm taking the plunge into 3D printed planes with one that, hopefully, goes smoothly. I have a Prusa MK4 so I started with 3D Lab Print since they work closely with Prusa and bought their filament bundle that has all the LW-PLA, Flexi Light, PETg and PolyAir to complete the plane. I figured why buy whole spools of this stuff if I wasn't sure I'd like it or be able to land well enough to keep it from shattering.

So far I haven't had any problems printing with the LW-PLA using 3D Lab's 3mf files and Prusa Slicer. I have gotten a lot of internal stringing in the fuselage and wing pieces but it cleaned out pretty easy with a long skewer. I tried printing two of the smaller parts, elevator parts, at the same time but the stringing between the parts was pretty bad so for me it's less hassle to print one at a time - I'm not in a big hurry.

Some things I've learned:

• The smooth PEI print sheet holds the LW-PLA fine but allows sharp points to pull up. For sharp points like trailing edges it's a good idea to use some sort of bed adhesive. I'm using Bed Weld and it keeps the points from pulling up.
• For long skinny parts like aileron sections put the long axis in line with the bed movement. I had a couple fail at the top of the print because they were crosswise, in line with the X axis, and wobbled when the bed, Y axis, moved.

I'm almost done with the LW.​

​

View attachment 240874 View attachment 240875 View attachment 240876​

Question: Did you do the floats? If so: the tail rudder steerer looks like the carbon rod gets permanently glued in, so is it a permanent thing?

 

[Mr NCT]

Question: Did you do the floats? If so: the tail rudder steerer looks like the carbon rod gets permanently glued in, so is it a permanent thing?

Did not do the floats so don't know about the rudder, sorry.

 

[ColoFlyer]

Question: Did you do the floats? If so: the tail rudder steerer looks like the carbon rod gets permanently glued in, so is it a permanent thing?

I also didn't add the floats, however, I do believe that the carbon fiber rod is glued permanent to the rudder and turns the plane into a float plane.
That is not a bad thing though, cause it give you a reason to use up more of the LW-PLA to print another one with normal landing gear.

🛩️🛩️✈️✈️