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3D Printed Wings - please post your experiences here

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faklord
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3D Printed Wings - please post your experiences here

Postby faklord » Wed Sep 05, 2018 5:49 pm

Hi All,
I thought I'd start a new thread with a more relevant title to carry on from http://kiteforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=199&t=2400231 where direnc has provided some interesting info on printing hydrofoil wings (and actually used a stab direct off a printer!)

There must be a few folk who've actually tried this by now and will have experiences that the rest of us can learn from?

Please post any such experiences here: Good, Bad & Ugly
or any other relevant advice.

Thanks

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Re: 3D Printed Wings - please post your experiences here

Postby SaulOhio » Thu Sep 06, 2018 1:36 pm

CNC machining seems to me the way to go, rather than 3D printing. Start with some material, and cut away what you don't need to make either a mold or directly create your wing. To machine it directly, get some G10 fiberglass. I use my CNC machine to cut molds, then make them from carbon.

Most 3D printers seem too small to make anything like a hydrofoil. Unless you make it in pieces, and stick them together somehow. But then you get irregularities at the seams, and I don't know how you can make them strong enough. They have to hold your full weight, after all.

There are some 3D printers that use carbon fiber, but they use very short strands of fiber, so you don't get the full strength advantage of carbon cloth.

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Re: 3D Printed Wings - please post your experiences here

Postby faklord » Fri Sep 07, 2018 10:18 am

SaulOhio wrote:
Thu Sep 06, 2018 1:36 pm
CNC machining seems to me the way to go, rather than 3D printing. Start with some material, and cut away what you don't need to make either a mold or directly create your wing. To machine it directly, get some G10 fiberglass. I use my CNC machine to cut molds, then make them from carbon.

Most 3D printers seem too small to make anything like a hydrofoil. Unless you make it in pieces, and stick them together somehow. But then you get irregularities at the seams, and I don't know how you can make them strong enough. They have to hold your full weight, after all.

There are some 3D printers that use carbon fiber, but they use very short strands of fiber, so you don't get the full strength advantage of carbon cloth.
^ Fair points. However, I guess a lot more of us have access to printers rather than CNC machines?
I was thinking more in terms of printing a core, then laminating that with a composite skin. Though direnc seems to have some success with printing a stab direct.

Out of interest, what material do you cut your molds from?
Last edited by faklord on Fri Sep 07, 2018 3:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: 3D Printed Wings - please post your experiences here

Postby direnc » Fri Sep 07, 2018 12:41 pm

Yesterday I had a friend test my first 3D printed and laminated wing for the first time. He reported that it did fly but not very good.
Then I went there to test it myself, and was surprised to see this:
reversed.JPG
He had mounted it backwards! We had a good laugh and were surprised that it could fly backwards.
Anyways, then we mounted it the right direction and my friend tested it again, and then I tried it. It's as good as any other wing IMO.
Flies well, and did not break.
It's root chord is 190mm. Tip chord 100mm. Wing span: 590mm. Surface area 800 cm2. Profile is Tom Speer's H105. Has -2 degrees wing twist from root to the tips.
It was printed in three parts. Glued with CA glue. Laminated at once with 4 layers of 200g glass and two strips of unidirectional CF on both sides.
Was vacuum bagged using vacuum storage bags.

Will keep flying it a bit more and see if it holds up, but I have other wing I want to try and new ones I want to build. So it may not get enough water time.
Next on my list is a low aspect 3D printed wing with internal metal rods and no laminaton. Just curious to find out if it is possible.
hammerhead ok.JPG
topside.JPG

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Re: 3D Printed Wings - please post your experiences here

Postby faklord » Sat Sep 08, 2018 11:28 am

^ Ha Ha :-)
Great to hear it worked..... eventually!

I assume the sections were printed vertically?
Joined with dowels or just glued butt joints?

Any idea what the weight came out to be?

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Re: 3D Printed Wings - please post your experiences here

Postby direnc » Sat Sep 08, 2018 10:24 pm

faklord wrote:
Sat Sep 08, 2018 11:28 am
^ Ha Ha :-)
Great to hear it worked..... eventually!

I assume the sections were printed vertically?
Joined with dowels or just glued butt joints?

Any idea what the weight came out to be?
Glued butt joint, but have three alignment holes with toothpicks.
Printed vertically. Weight is about 900grams, similar to a G10 wing of same area.
Maybe I could have gotten away with a lighter infill or lamination, but do not know, or have the ability to calculate how much is necessary.

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Re: 3D Printed Wings - please post your experiences here

Postby kjorn » Thu Sep 13, 2018 12:52 am

direnc wrote:
Sat Sep 08, 2018 10:24 pm
faklord wrote:
Sat Sep 08, 2018 11:28 am
^ Ha Ha :-)
Great to hear it worked..... eventually!

I assume the sections were printed vertically?
Joined with dowels or just glued butt joints?

Any idea what the weight came out to be?
Glued butt joint, but have three alignment holes with toothpicks.
Printed vertically. Weight is about 900grams, similar to a G10 wing of same area.
Maybe I could have gotten away with a lighter infill or lamination, but do not know, or have the ability to calculate how much is necessary.
Is it solid?!

I assumed it had a honeycomb interior with carbon skin around it. I was toying with the idea of using spray insulation foam to fill the voids.

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Re: 3D Printed Wings - please post your experiences here

Postby Adventure Logs » Thu Sep 13, 2018 3:48 am

Which printer do you have? I've been toying with the idea of printed wings, so following with great interest!

=Jason-

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Re: 3D Printed Wings - please post your experiences here

Postby direnc » Thu Sep 13, 2018 7:27 pm

kjorn wrote:
Thu Sep 13, 2018 12:52 am
Is it solid?!

I assumed it had a honeycomb interior with carbon skin around it. I was toying with the idea of using spray insulation foam to fill the voids.
Not exactly solid. It has a thick skin with high percentage of infill, and a fiberglass skin on top. The part where it mates the fuselage is almost solid.

There are many ways to build a wing using a 3d printer, including one similar to the one you mention:
http://efoil.builders/t/diy-composite-wings/755

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Re: 3D Printed Wings - please post your experiences here

Postby direnc » Thu Sep 13, 2018 7:32 pm

Adventure Logs wrote:
Thu Sep 13, 2018 3:48 am
Which printer do you have? I've been toying with the idea of printed wings, so following with great interest!
I have an Anet A8, a very cheap one that I would not really recommend these days (fire hazard!). Now there are better options in the same price range. Like this:
https://www.banggood.com/Creality-3D-En ... rehouse=CN
And this one with larger build volume and a higher price tag:
https://www.banggood.com/DIY-Creality-C ... rehouse=CN


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