"The Disposable Miniature Air Vehicle (DMAV) team (Nathan Kidder, Ben Rhoads, and Brian Jackson) lead by Discovery Lab Program Director Dr. Rob Williams, was tasked with 3D printing a fully functional aircraft from a Makerbot Replicator 2X.

The idea behind the project was that a plane could be quickly and cost effectively manufactured using 3D printing. The airframe could be printed for $16 worth of plastic in a matter of hours."


http://wbi-icc.com/students/dmav/




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07SNMN0Q8xA&feature=player_embedded

The future of Aeromodelling?

i actually like the idea, but i don't really think this will be the future of aeromodelling because of the initial expense of the machine and its size. agreed the ABS is extremely cheap however considering the small size of machines etc its highly unlikely this will take over. For 'one off' prototyping it might be highly effective but when it comes to mass production, existing methods like injection moulding, blow boulding and spin casting cannot be defeated in terms of speed.
there are a few quad frame plans online that need 3D printed parts but those are just for individuals who want to make them.

The 3 D Technology is still nascent; let's see which direction it takes.

I for one am happy about any technology that will reduce costs

Meanwhile, I remain extremely content with the flexibility, economics and performance I get from SPADS

agreed, but we should also look at the economics of 3D Printing, its not really as practical as it seems and also we should understand 3D printing is done in layers a few microns thick, so that takes up a lot of time to create the part. yes a few hours might seem extremely less but unless we get a 3d printer thats a lot faster than current speeds or has some other way of creating parts, 3d prints would only remain with prototypers and people who want to make one off parts

The initial expense will come down drastically! Look at the reprap printers. The can replicate most of the parts they use themselves! 3D printers are increasingly becoming a piece of indispensable hardware for rapid prototyping. It helps to cut the development time of products drastically. 3D printing is touted to be the next big industrial revolution. Consumer 3D printers are slow. But tell me one, is milling a part out of solid metal faster?

Another 3D printed plane:
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn20737-3d-printing-the-worlds-first-printed-plane.html#.UjP_J3_I94I

I feel that this is inevitable. I have personally seen heli/wind turbine(model) blades, linkages, frame being printed in a 3D printer. As far as I remember, one blade(170mm) took about 6 minutes or so.

milling is quite a bit faster and we should also understand the difference between prototyping and mass production ,even if some one spends a week to make a prototype its perfectly acceptable, but in mass production that cannot be the case. i don't say its rubbish for prototyping but what i mean is its uneconomical for large scale production. yes if you have it in your home and you use it for yourself and maybe a few other people then yes maybe you'll be able to keep up with demand, but other wise its highly unlikely.

and generally speaking even though the 3D Printer is around $4000 (makerbot types) its not as expensive as other industrial machines but in the long run unless they basically make parts every few minutes , it will not be cost effective for that company, unless ofcourse they charge a huge premium or high service charge. there are a large number of factors to cover when calculating output cost of a product, not just machine cost and material cost

@rohit , sorry if i am being a but rude but most propellers(electric) today are manufactured using injection moulding,  that makes 40-50 blades in one 4 minute cycle. so you see its not that cheap to use 3D printers for those. yes if its not available anywhere
then rapid prototyping is the only choice, or for one off parts that are not available

Oh! absolutely, I didn't mean to say that it is a replacement for mass production.

The blade that was produced, required a specific twist and blade grip compatible with it. Due to the unavailability of those specific requirements in any off the shelf product, it was printed. So, for custom manufacturing, I guess, it might become a viable option in the future(cant afford now ).

@rohit most certainly one doesnt have a choice if its nut available off the shelf,and at 85000 it isnt that expensive (not that i mean to buy it) but its cost can reduce if the demand increases a lot more. but the current large scale manufacturing techniques CANNOT be surpassed in the near future so calling it the next big thing might be inappropriate for the simple reason of unviability on a larger scale

Quote from: yashodhanp on September 14, 2013, 12:06:07 PM
and generally speaking even though the 3D Printer is around $4000 (makerbot types)

Not quite. The latest makerbot is below $3000 shipped. Plus people from a locality may set up "hacker spaces" and pool in for one. And 3d printing is not aimed at mass production.

http://store.makerbot.com/replicator2.html

ya so even cheaper.

dont forget customs in india =))

Take a look at this:

http://arstechnica.com/business/2013/06/why-basic-3d-printers-are-crazy-cheap-now/

ya.. i heard about them.. but didnt believe in it.. thanks for the link.. you have made me a believer.

The 3d printing revolution is yet to hit India. But we have enough talent here to make our own version of the makerbot Someone just needs to take the initiative and we will have our own low cost printer. I, for one, would help such a project to the best of my abilities

there are some people selling it here for a lakh or so. we do have the expertise to make it, but we need to have motive and demand for it, then we might have 3D printers @ under 10k

Something like this:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/printrbot/printrbot-jr-your-kids-first-3d-printer?ref=live

http://hackaday.com/2013/09/13/students-build-a-3d-printed-plane/

I started the thread with that link

http://blog.stratasys.com/2013/08/21/3d-printed-injection-molds-rapid-manufacturing/

hi all i just started this www.buggzhobbies.com for 3d printed planes. check out and pm me for any questions

Hi, If you have not checked the Website we offer 3d printed plane under 10k infect our Kit price is only 4999/- including shipping anywhere in india..

Checkout some of the pic of our printed planes photos and videos...

www.facebook.com/buggzhobbies