Re: 3D Printed Wings - please post your experiences here
Posted: Fri May 17, 2019 7:08 pm
by plummet
I will 3d print some wings in the not so distant future.
As far as cad packages are concerned Fusion 360 is very powerful and its free of charge for an enthusiast. Download it and get learning. If you havent modelled before be prepared for a big learning curve. Its a complex monster that doesnt take 5 minutes to learn.
Re: 3D Printed Wings - please post your experiences here
Posted: Fri May 17, 2019 7:45 pm
by kjorn
My wing is printed. I want to laminate and vacuum bag it, would you wrap the 3D print in carbon wrapping it around the leading edge. Or would you put one layer on the top and another on the bottom, vacuum, then trim the seams off after?
My previous wing (plywood core) split along the seam and opened up. I guess the plywood gave out and the two skins separated. Trying to avoid that.
Re: 3D Printed Wings - please post your experiences here
Posted: Sun Jul 21, 2019 5:58 am
by mkkite
That's my currently stumbling block too Kjorn. Trying to determine the best way to handle the leading edge to avoid delamination.
- A full wraparound: would seem tricky with the deformation/bunching of the CF around some of the less straight front wing designs.
- I could do top with a partial wrap around, then bottom and keep alternating to build up. Time consuming though. And might end up with a warped profile where things overlap.
- a simple top and bottom approach: hard to get back to the original leading edge profile without nearly sanding all the way back down
- could add a final glass or carbon top with a slight wrap around to the above. To help seal that area and for aesthetic reasons. Not sure how to make that look nice though at the edge that wraps around.
mopman365 had an interesting method as well to tweak the area where the top and bottom join. Hopefully we can hear from some others as to what worked for them.
Re: 3D Printed Wings - please post your experiences here
My wing is printed. I want to laminate and vacuum bag it, would you wrap the 3D print in carbon wrapping it around the leading edge. Or would you put one layer on the top and another on the bottom, vacuum, then trim the seams off after?
...
Would it be easier, to just 3-D print a female mold with a reveal
to stick your vacuum-bag, and alignment pins, first ; then do the
lay-Up in the materials of your choice ?
Bille
Re: 3D Printed Wings - please post your experiences here
My wing is printed. I want to laminate and vacuum bag it, would you wrap the 3D print in carbon wrapping it around the leading edge. Or would you put one layer on the top and another on the bottom, vacuum, then trim the seams off after?
...
Would it be easier, to just 3-D print a female mold with a reveal
to stick your vacuum-bag, and alignment pins, first ; then do the
lay-Up in the materials of your choice ?
Bille
No response . The answer would have bin YES.
Bille
Re: 3D Printed Wings - please post your experiences here
My wing is printed. I want to laminate and vacuum bag it, would you wrap the 3D print in carbon wrapping it around the leading edge. Or would you put one layer on the top and another on the bottom, vacuum, then trim the seams off after?
...
Would it be easier, to just 3-D print a female mold with a reveal
to stick your vacuum-bag, and alignment pins, first ; then do the
lay-Up in the materials of your choice ?
Bille
No response . The answer would have bin YES.
Bille
I ended up taking little semi-circles of material out of the leading edge and trailing edge. I also drilled holes from top to bottom through the 3D print. These were filled with an epoxy carbon fibre mix, then I laminated the top (2 layers of carbon fibre). When it was dry I did the bottom.
This meant that the leading edge had a lot of material for the top layer and bottom layer to attach to. It also had the top to bottom holes to attach to. So it had kinda like a 3D carbon skeleton though the plastic material. My biggest worry was that the top layer would detach from the 3D print core and from the bottom layer. These holes through the material were my attempt to stop this from happening.
I rode the wing this weekend, took a couple of runs to get used to, but it flies fine.
I'm not convinced that a female mould would be worth doing. It wouldn't be strong enough to make many wings. Clamping it shut would be hard, the plastic is very bendy. But mostly I don't want 5 of the same wing. I want each one to be better than the last.
Re: 3D Printed Wings - please post your experiences here
