JasonEricAnderson
Senior Member
I'm wondering if parts could be designed to 'break away' on landing. Like some sort of replaceable clasp or connector that would be a known break point that would save the rest of the part.
my 3d printed FPV plane
- Thread starter erwin touwen
- Start date
He printed it in PET, which in my experience, is way stronger than PLA, which is brittle and really not all that durable. By contrast, breaking anything I printed in PET by hand, is pretty darn hard (try ripping a plastic soda bottle), so I was a little surprised to see his plane was completely shattered - although I didnt really see what happened to it.
@erwin: You're trying to do 2 things here; design a plane and construct it by using a 3D printer. Its probably a good idea to separate both, as (like me) you're probably not very good at the former and its not because it looks good, that it will fly good. If I where you, Id test fly your next design in foam, once its proven to fly, go ahead and make a 3D printed redesign. Or 3D print an existing, proven design. Last idea, put a flight controller in there to help you out if its not flying as you had hoped for.
erwin touwen
New member
Hello Guys, It has been a while sins my last update, but I finally redesigned and printed the next version of my "G-code flying wing", and here is the result:
So version 4 will need carbon spars from wing tip to wing tip, that is for sure...
@ Jasonericanderson: But I made the whole plane a break away part....
Anyhow I hoped to find a material that would be less bridle than PLA. I hoped PET would be the answer, knowing how tough a PET bottle is. but PET filament is only slightly tougher than PLA... Printing separate brake away parts would add weight to the plane, but maybe gluing the printed parts with a not so strong glue would do the trick...
@ ZoomNboom: I started the flying wing project because I thought it was just a matter of reusing the info I found on the internet, and translate it to a printable 3d model. It just turns out that I missed out on some vital pieces of info.... And also I have never build a foam plane before, maybe I'll have a go at that later...
So version 4 will need carbon spars from wing tip to wing tip, that is for sure...
@ Jasonericanderson: But I made the whole plane a break away part....
Anyhow I hoped to find a material that would be less bridle than PLA. I hoped PET would be the answer, knowing how tough a PET bottle is. but PET filament is only slightly tougher than PLA... Printing separate brake away parts would add weight to the plane, but maybe gluing the printed parts with a not so strong glue would do the trick... @ ZoomNboom: I started the flying wing project because I thought it was just a matter of reusing the info I found on the internet, and translate it to a printable 3d model. It just turns out that I missed out on some vital pieces of info....
And also I have never build a foam plane before, maybe I'll have a go at that later...
Nice work, it looks like you are onto something there =)
I do think carbon is the way to go. Right now you are relying on the layer to layer adhesion, which isn't the best on a 3D-printed part (which is also how your wing broke). Add some carbon spars in appropriate places for strength, and use the 3D-printed parts mainly for aerodynamics I believe is the way to go.
I do think carbon is the way to go. Right now you are relying on the layer to layer adhesion, which isn't the best on a 3D-printed part (which is also how your wing broke). Add some carbon spars in appropriate places for strength, and use the 3D-printed parts mainly for aerodynamics I believe is the way to go.
erwin touwen
New member
I have tried to print it in Taulon "bridge" nylon, but that was way to flexible and warped badly.
erwin touwen
New member
I have tried to print it in Taulon "bridge" nylon, but that was way to flexible and warped badly.
And foaming the wing... what kind of foam where you thinking about? pur?
My goal is to print it, glue it and fly it...
bhursey
The Geeky Pilot
Normaly wings are done with hotwire or molded. Unfortunutly you would need something to inject that would still not push the shell out.. A foam epp wing with 3d printed tips and electronics canopy might work better in survivability factor.. Look at the zagi x canope...
erwin touwen
New member
Technically you are right, but designing a 3d printed plane that does not com out of a 3d printer is a bit to easy for me
Its not because a foamie has a carbon spar in the wing, that we call it anything other than a foamie. Likewise with balsa planes. If you want to be semantic about it, a "pure" 3D printed plane would mean printing the propeller, motor, electronics etc. Not gonna happen of course. A pure printed frame might be possible, but its always going to be either as brittle as glass (especially in PLA), or weigh like lead. Possibly both.
The suggestion to fill the wings with some PU foam is actually an excellent one, and probably an ideal solution. I dont think its any more cheating than using glue.
The suggestion to fill the wings with some PU foam is actually an excellent one, and probably an ideal solution. I dont think its any more cheating than using glue.
bhursey
The Geeky Pilot
Bingo... if a crash happens the plastic may just crack and you can put some nice packing tape on it.
Similar threads
