What 3d printable plane should I make

skymaster

Elite member
Is it worth it? So many hours of printing so that if you crash it will take u a couple of days to fix it. I just got the hang of leveling the bed, i even bought the auto leveling sensor. after learnig how to level your bed it becomes so easy that you start thinking y i bought the cr touch.
 

telnar1236

Elite member
Is it worth it? So many hours of printing so that if you crash it will take u a couple of days to fix it. I just got the hang of leveling the bed, i even bought the auto leveling sensor. after learnig how to level your bed it becomes so easy that you start thinking y i bought the cr touch.
Yes
 

Matthewdupreez

Legendary member
Is it worth it? So many hours of printing so that if you crash it will take u a couple of days to fix it. I just got the hang of leveling the bed, i even bought the auto leveling sensor. after learnig how to level your bed it becomes so easy that you start thinking y i bought the cr touch.
yes, it is hours... but only takes me an hour of actual work to put all the prints on (i've timed it) and the rest of the hours the printer is doing all the work,
plus part of the point is kind not to crash .... apparently :ROFLMAO:
also it is cheaper for me in south africa to print a plane than build it from foamboard
 

telnar1236

Elite member
Is it worth it? So many hours of printing so that if you crash it will take u a couple of days to fix it. I just got the hang of leveling the bed, i even bought the auto leveling sensor. after learnig how to level your bed it becomes so easy that you start thinking y i bought the cr touch.
I should probably say more than just yes. As Matthewdupreez mentioned, the actual time on your part with 3D printing is less than with foam (unless you design your own, but that is a whole other story). 3D printing also gets much more precise contours and gives you far better control of your geometry than foam. There are some amazing foam board designs out there, but with 3D printing it's pretty easy to achieve results that are more detailed than most RTF designs. Then on top of that, 3D printed geometry is thinner than foam, so you can fit more into the same size of structure (especially important with thin sections like wings). Finally, many would disagree with me on this, but 3D printed planes fly better than foam board planes in my opinion. They just feel a little more polished and a lot more precise in the air.

On the downside, as you say, they take longer to repair and are more fragile. But if you crash an RTF plane, you're waiting at least a week for parts and are paying a lot more. They weigh more as a whole (except for whatever black magic Eclipson uses). But they aren't that heavy, and they still can fly very light and floaty with the right setup, even using normal PLA, and the added weight helps with the wind (I personally like heavy planes too). And they cost more than foam board, in the US at least, but they are still quite cheap compared to the cost of the electronics. So overall, I would say very much worth it.
 

skymaster

Elite member
I should probably say more than just yes. As Matthewdupreez mentioned, the actual time on your part with 3D printing is less than with foam (unless you design your own, but that is a whole other story). 3D printing also gets much more precise contours and gives you far better control of your geometry than foam. There are some amazing foam board designs out there, but with 3D printing it's pretty easy to achieve results that are more detailed than most RTF designs. Then on top of that, 3D printed geometry is thinner than foam, so you can fit more into the same size of structure (especially important with thin sections like wings). Finally, many would disagree with me on this, but 3D printed planes fly better than foam board planes in my opinion. They just feel a little more polished and a lot more precise in the air.

On the downside, as you say, they take longer to repair and are more fragile. But if you crash an RTF plane, you're waiting at least a week for parts and are paying a lot more. They weigh more as a whole (except for whatever black magic Eclipson uses). But they aren't that heavy, and they still can fly very light and floaty with the right setup, even using normal PLA, and the added weight helps with the wind (I personally like heavy planes too). And they cost more than foam board, in the US at least, but they are still quite cheap compared to the cost of the electronics. So overall, I would say very much worth it.
Well thank you for your input, maybe I'm just kind of uncertain since i just started with 3D printing. the proses of making something with a 3d printer is long and you have to be patient. there is a lot of things that i like about 3D printing. like it set's you free to customize your ideas, need a part and it's nonexistent, create it. the reason i asked the question is because i just learned to level the bed on my ender 3 v2, and got the hang of it, and finished printing all the parts of the Eclipson model A free version and because it looks so fragile is why i asked is it worth it. I also love what some of you are doing like hybrid planes, half foam and half pla. I'm still learning and most of all I'm having fun.