RC and 3D Printing
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I found this interesting airplane on Thingverse and decided to give it go.
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3421288
It is very time consuming. When finished, it will have a 1300mm / 52" wingspan and be powered by an electric motor.
Each one of the colored wing segments took anywhere from 3-6 hours to print. The 8 aileron segments took 2-3 hours each.
All the parts have ultra thin walls which make up the "skin". The engineering on this thing is pretty cool
That control horn next the servo box in the last photo is a parametric design and can be customized to any size, width, length, height, thickness, hole count, radius of corners, etc.
I am live streaming the printer. It is currently on a 12 hour print of Body segment 5. There are 16 Body parts. Lots of other parts that need to be printed like the canopy, motor mount, stabilizers, rudder, elevators. It will be a while before this one is finished.
If you click that link and view the live stream I get 10 additional entries per view in a drawing for a new Prusa i3 MK3S+ 3D printer. Then I could get this dove in half the time! Click it!
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Cool stuff.
Much of the 3-D printing stuff I've seen looks "rough" on the surface.
Do you plan to sand them to a smoother surface?
"Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08
The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.
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I will be posting new live streams daily. Each view gets me 10 additional entries for the drawing. Appreciate a daily view from you all!
Today's Live stream
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Cool stuff.
Much of the 3-D printing stuff I've seen looks "rough" on the surface.
Do you plan to sand them to a smoother surface?
@george-k said in RC and 3D Printing:
Cool stuff.
Much of the 3-D printing stuff I've seen looks "rough" on the surface.
Do you plan to sand them to a smoother surface?
It's smoother than the photos make it look.
Most of the time, no sanding is required. There will be very little to no sanding on this project.
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You have the coolest toys…
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@mark I assume you purchase the motor? That’s not something that can be printed, right?
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@mark I assume you purchase the motor? That’s not something that can be printed, right?
@lufins-dad Yes, the motor, motor speed controller, flight controller and radio receiver, battery, servos and servo control rods, any lights, etc. are all non-printed parts
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New part, new stream. Click it!
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New part, Body segment 9. new stream. More chances to win! lol
No, seriously, click the link!
The airframe so far, dry assembled on the dining room table.
This is not a small RC plane. I still have to print the front engine cowl that extends the length another 180mm or 7" Then the tail section and rudder add some more length.
An additional 5 segments that stretch the entire length of the fuselage and the canopy still need to be printed. They form arched top of the fuselage.
All of this will be held together with carbon fiber rods and adhesive. Adhesive that I have to wear a respirator to use.
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How expensive is the filament for this type of project?
IOW, without all the "other stuff" that goes into an RC airplane of this size, what's the cost of materials?
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How expensive is the filament for this type of project?
IOW, without all the "other stuff" that goes into an RC airplane of this size, what's the cost of materials?
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@george-k So far I have used about $12 in filament. After every thing is printed I suspect it will be between $20 and $30
@mark said in RC and 3D Printing:
@george-k So far I have used about $12 in filament. After every thing is printed I suspect it will be between $20 and $30
And how much for the non-printable parts?
You said this looks like a pretty big plane. How flyable by an amateur?
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@mark said in RC and 3D Printing:
@george-k So far I have used about $12 in filament. After every thing is printed I suspect it will be between $20 and $30
And how much for the non-printable parts?
You said this looks like a pretty big plane. How flyable by an amateur?
@george-k It will be a trainer type plane. Not too fast and jittery. Slow and comfy, like a big old luxury sedan.
Reprint of Body Segment 12 in PLA silver after failed print in PETG. The PETG was not 100% at fault. This part needs printed supports for the internal bracing.
The designer recommended that I print in PLA vs. PETG. Most of the plane is already printed in PETG. I have to try this PLA print to see if what he says about the quality of the finished product is true. If it is significantly better, I will be reprinting some parts.
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Frustrating. The 2nd attempt to print body segment 12 in PLA, failed. Hopefully this one will work. Back to PETG but with some internal supports. |
New Stream! Click it!
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Frustrating. The 2nd attempt to print body segment 12 in PLA, failed. Hopefully this one will work. Back to PETG but with some internal supports. |
New Stream! Click it!
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Various things can make a print fail. In this instance, the walls on these parts are the thinnest I have ever seen in a 3D printed model. Every part has some "defects" that I need to go over with some epoxy and possibly some thin fiberglass cloth to rienforce the structural integrity.
The particular part failed the first time because I didn't use supports. The second time was due to it cracking apart when I attempted to remove it from the build plate.
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Finally got Body segment 12 to print. Back to PETG filament.
Segments 13 & 14 printing now.
New stream. Click it!
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Various things can make a print fail. In this instance, the walls on these parts are the thinnest I have ever seen in a 3D printed model. Every part has some "defects" that I need to go over with some epoxy and possibly some thin fiberglass cloth to rienforce the structural integrity.
The particular part failed the first time because I didn't use supports. The second time was due to it cracking apart when I attempted to remove it from the build plate.
@mark said in RC and 3D Printing:
The second time was due to it cracking apart when I attempted to remove it from the build plate.
I would love to have heard the words you used when that happened.
