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Please help me learn (and present) about as many 3D-printed parts as possible :]

AirShowFan

Well Known Member
Patron
Hey everyone.

I'm working on a presentation that shows off as many uses of 3D printing in the aeronautics world as I can find. For anyone who wants to see my slides, you can download them here. Warning: They're a huge PDF, about 50 megs, because it includes videos. It goes over some general concepts of 3D printing (pros and cons, the various technologies out there) and then lists every 3D-printed airplane part (as well as parts of helicopters, rockets, satellites...) that I could find in the public literature.

I would love to include all the creative uses of 3D printing that I have seen here on VAF. So...

Do you know of any 3D-printed airplane parts, or tools used to make airplane parts?

If so, please let me know!

(Ideally this should be RV-related, but if you know of other airplanes' parts that are 3D printed, that would be ok too. Do note, however, that my slides already show many many examples, so before you suggest yours, I ask that you please check the ones already on my list).

My slides currently include the following, which I have found by searching VAF as thoroughly as I could. Again, I would appreciate it if people let me know what I missed:

Steve Melton’s fuel drain fairings, from here and here and here and here and here.

GWkx2Zj.png


“Weasel”s seatbelt holder, from here.

hMTMamD.png


Steve Melton’s RV-8 mirror holder, from here and here.

jMIkqvT.png


“Weasel”s landing light bezel, from here.

UGFE39e.png


Tom Gan’s GPS antenna cover, from here.

gdzqxAh.png


“YvesCH”s Wire clips and electronics holders, from here and here.

MBzm8Rj.png


“Weasel”s wire bracket, from here.

cTvVbg7.png


“Control”s fuel drain fairings, from here.

KBxZmnB.png


“Snowflake”s fuel drain fairings, from here.

HV2Az5f.png


(... continued on next comment ...)
 
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(...continuing...)

Steve Melton?s lighting mount, from here.

kK9wJM2.png


?MadMaveric?s step plug, from here.

66yOUTg.png


Steve Melton?s EFIS glare shield, from here.

MbYliLY.png


Scott ?Punkin?s prototype AOA vane, from here.

dyvx9cw.png


?Dwranda?s washer wrench, from here and here.

G2c4KAG.png


And currently missing from my slides (I will add them asap) are...

Steve Melton?s flap bracket fairing, from here and here.

miaTJdp.png


... and his canopy hinge cover and mini mirror holder, from here.

BhMO9WV.png


8320eOK.png


Know of any others? Please let me know!
 
No photos to share, but Van's engineering dept has been using 3D printing for ~1.5 years or so to prototype parts in plastic before committing to the cost of making machined metal examples and for making tooling for smaller sized fiberglass molds (empenage tip fairings, etc).
 
I've been playing around with 3d printing for awhile now.. I'm definitely looking to add some things to my RV-8 when I get home.. Still need to figure out what I need and draw/design it for printing.. but it's absolutely happening.

This is a cool thread for sure.. Hopefully people will contribute more in the future.
 
Valve wobble test tool:

Fixture worked, valve extension did not.

ogm.jpg


3D printed via DuraForm HST (Mineral Fiber Filled Nylon-12) Selective Laser Sintering
 
I’ve been using a 3D printer for several years in several technology areas. My most recent use case is to creat molds for custom fiberglass parts. I find it much more predictable to design and define a mold in CAD and then print and finish a mold to create a fiberglass part. This has the advantage that I can share the CAD file and others can create / customize the same part.

If you look at DanH’s thread of “Tip: small fiberglass parts” the 3D printed mold takes the place of the foam carved mold.

A foam mold may be easier in many cases but a 3D printed mold can be accurately defined and is reproducible.
 
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I see you have one already, but you're welcome to use any of the photos i've added to the posts here on the topic... I just added a photo of a fuel cap opener/emergency wrench/emergency hydration access tool to the thread with the other parts. I can add a photo of my Stratux case when I get to the office, i'll pull some screenshots out of Solidworks for you.
 
What material are you using to print parts that have to hold up to some heat? My primary material these days is PET-G, but I haven't put anything out in the car to see if it melts yet.

Cheers,
Rusty
 
Here's a prototype for a tablet holding bracket. In Solidworks:
o4f.png


And IRL. I still need to make the clip to hold the top, then both can mount to my instrument panel:
o45.jpg


Here's the Stratux Case:
o4F.png
 
3D Printing at Aerosport!

Aerosport Products has been using 3D Printing for over 20 years in the development of products for the aircraft industry. We used our in-house SLA machines to develop the first test panels for what became the line of Aerosport carbon fiber instrument panels for the RV-10 and RV7/9's. This part below was created with multiple 3D prints being joined together and fiberglassed for strength. We just purchased the new HP Multi Jet Fusion 3D Printer in the last few months. It prints in production PA-12 Nylon material and creates end-use parts right off of the printer. This ability has greatly increased the speed to market for several items.
Many of the early Aerosport Products parts began as 3D prints that were then used to create silicon molds used for the urethane casting of products. Our printers are available for anyone that is looking to acquire parts and who doesn't have the ability. You can see more info on our 3D printing capabilities at www.AerosportModeling.com

IMG_2781.jpg
 
I really want an SLS printer, but they're still out of the hobbyist's reach IMO.

Way outside my reach as well so when I need this level of product I use one of the rapid prototype companies out there. For the most part, parts like this can be printed fast at a reasonable price.
 
Thanks!

Van's engineering dept has been using 3D printing for ~1.5 years or so to prototype parts in plastic (...) and for making tooling for smaller sized fiberglass molds (empenage tip fairings, etc).

Thanks, Scott! I may contact them and ask to learn more details about this.

Valve wobble test tool

Thanks, Brian! I will add it to my list.

My most recent use case is to create molds for custom fiberglass parts.

Thanks, Glen! Got any specific examples? And if you could come up with a picture, that would be super awesome. No rush on this, but I would really appreciate it!

Here's a prototype for a tablet holding bracket
(...)
Here's the Stratux Case:
(...)

Thanks, Rob! That is very impressive work! I sincerely appreciate your creativity. Keep it up!

Many of the early Aerosport Products parts began as 3D prints that were then used to create silicon molds used for the urethane casting of products (...) We used our in-house SLA machines to develop the first test panels for what became the line of Aerosport carbon fiber instrument panels (...) This part below was created with multiple 3D prints being joined together and fiberglassed for strength. (...) You can see more info on our 3D printing capabilities at www.AerosportModeling.com

Thanks, Zac! I will check it out, and my send you some more questions if that's all right.

Also: Thanks Tim_AZ for PMing me this article about the Raytheon Pyros missile

I really appreciate all the informative and supportive comments. VAF really is one of the greatest communities on the internet.

PS: Just saw Weasel's carb heat bracket and heating duct on the front page. From here:

VAFDR_08%20Nov.%2008%2015.55.jpg

VAFDR_09%20Nov.%2008%2015.55.jpg


VAFDR_06%20Nov.%2009%2017.13.jpg

VAFDR_07%20Nov.%2009%2017.13.jpg
 
the resurrection of a thread???/

I see this thread has been superceded by others, but thought it worthwhile to re-boot the 'help me learn' part of the title!

there are a dizzying array of printer out there now.....many poorly made knock-offs of bigger name printers.
but what are the crucial parts that must perform well?

so here' my question; can someone recommend an entry level printer, that is software friendly, and can actually produce a few parts that can be used on my aircraft ( flap fairings come to mind).
can this be had for under $500? I have some Cad/CAM manufacturing experience, and am not afraid of building a kit version.

most of the reviews online have a dozen glowing recommendations, then a couple guys who had the thing blow up on them and became a boat anchor!

hoping to avoid the latter!
 
For someone new to 3D printing I would strongly recommend the Prusa i3 MK3 purchased directly from Prusa Research in the Czech Republic. I have the earlier MK2 version. The kit is $750 plus shipping so it is over your target but it is worth the extra money.

https://www.prusa3d.com/

The Prusa designs are open source so there are a whole bunch of "Prusa i3 MKx" printers on the market that are a lot cheaper but they are cheaper for a reason. Mostly they have substituted higher end components with cheaper alternatives. The one you get directly from Prusa is the real deal from the guy who designed it.
 
I have 2 3D printers. An Alfawise U10, which has a build plate of 40cm X 40cm X 50cm
and a Creality Ender 3 with a build plate of 22cm X 22cm X 25cm. Both were under $500.
These take some tweaking to get to print well as most Chinese printers do. A friend has
a Prusa Mk3 that was almost $800 and spent about the same amount of time getting his
dialed in. These for the most part are great for printing in PLA, PETG, TPU and Nylon.
ABS requires a higher temp heated bed and an enclosure to maintain build temp.

I print a lot of prototype objects in PLA first as it is inexpensive and then print
finals in either PETG or ABS. ABS is a little more difficult as it needs a high
temp heated bed and a heated enclosure to maintain the temp during the build.
It is a fun hobby, but you will never get rich 3D printing. Well, at least I wont!!
LOL
 
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