I'm recovering from injury and bored. So was thinking of way to 3D print a wing. I have a Form2 laser 3D printer at work and it prints out several stiff materials based on epoxy.
I'm printing out some test parts to see how durable and stiff they are. Here's a fin i made.
My first goal would be to design and print out test wings, ones that would last 10 sessions. Next goal is to build ones that last a long time.
I'd start by copying a wing I have to compare performance based on build. Then design my own wing to see how it goes.
So the question is how to do it. Here's some ideas. Please comment.
1. One of the limitations is the printer has a build volume of 145x145x175. So a wing with 550 span would need to be built in 4 parts. I was thinking to build it in 5 parts, a center section, and two wing parts each side. I'm using a moses fuselage with screw on wing, so I'd make a 150mm wide center part with screw holes, and add the two wing bases and tips to each side. I'd create cylindrical holes in the interior of the parts and glue in several carbon fiber rods along span. The tips are thin so I'll use thick and thinner rods overlapping. Rods won't go all the way to tips of course. I could use internal carbon plate as tip reinforcement. the section divides can be staggered and keyed with internal details to position and reduce concentrating weak spot. Glue all the parts together, give it a few coats of paint and ready.
2. Alternative to above is to make parts as above, but reduce outside form a precise thickness and after gluing parts together, vacuum bag 1 layer Uni directional and one layer twill carbon fiber on outside. More work, less accuracy on shape, but stronger.
3. Make thin " skins" of top and bottom surfaces in Parts. Glue each skin side parts together to make one part for each top and bottom surface. Then laminate in cf into each skin side, filling the empty cavity as much as possible with Cf. I'd have to be smart and build in internal and external fixtures to keep everything aligned and not deforming. Then glue the top and bottom surfaces together - vacuum bag it. Then clean up and paint it. I might be able to use the Flashforge Dreamer FDM machine that has 230mm max build length to build these parts in abs. not as strong and bigger risk for deformation.