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3D-Printed UAV Can Go From Atoms to Airborne in 24 Hours

Posted by timothy on from the concept-and-model-in-one dept.

Zothecula (1870348) writes "Because 3D printing allows one-off items to be created quickly and cheaply, it should come as no surprise that the technology has already been used to produce unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs. Engineers at the University of Sheffield's Advanced Manufacturing Research Center (AMRC), however, have taken things a step farther. They've made a 3D-printed UAV airframe that's designed to minimize the amount of material needed in its construction, and that can be printed and in the air within a single day."

10 of 77 comments (clear)

  1. so what.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    airframes are trivial. When they can print a motor and power supply, then maybe they'll have something

    1. Re:so what.... by Bartles · · Score: 3, Informative

      Or you can just use copper or silver wire, without having to wait for a machine that can print it. 3d printers are cool, but let's not put them on a pedestal.

    2. Re:so what.... by jklovanc · · Score: 2

      They can print copper

      from the article;

      For the conductor, Kiran used a silver ink. For the magnet, he employed the help of Samanvaya Srivastava, graduate student in chemical and biomolecular engineering, to come up with a viscous blend of strontium ferrite.

      I see no mention of copper.

      Switching from a linear motor (the 3D printed speaker below) to a rotary motor wouldn't be difficult.

      I live statements like this; "since we can do A we can do B because they use a similar principle". A linear motor and a radial motor are drastically different. A linear motor is a magnet inside a coil. A few wraps of conductor will do for the coil. For a radial motor you need many more fine conductors wrapped close together to work. Then there is the issue of bearings which have to be smooth enough to handle a few hundred RPM for a significant period of time. A speaker has one moving part suspended by the cone. The tolerances alone make radial motors much more complex than linear motors. A radial motor coil is much harder to print than a speaker.

    3. Re:so what.... by ArcadeMan · · Score: 2

      I suppose it is tempting, if the only tool you have is a 3D-printed hammer, to treat everything as if it were a 3D-printed nail.

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  2. Enough by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Enough with these "3d printer miracle stories". They arent printing a UAV. They are printing some wings and a fuselage. You still need an engine, control electronics, etc.

  3. 24 hours compared to what? by viperidaenz · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Injection moulded UAV airframe produced in.... minutes?

    The images look pretty poor quality, you can tell by the reflections that the wing shape is bumpy. I guess that's what happens when you 3D print without support material, bits sag while they cool down.

    1. Re:24 hours compared to what? by viperidaenz · · Score: 3

      .... and a mold would cost $10k - $100k.
      and the 3D printer these guys used costs $400,000. It aint your average makerbot.

    2. Re:24 hours compared to what? by InsultsByThePound · · Score: 5, Funny

      Oh, look at Mr. Subtractive here! I guess we Additives are just way too Positive for you, negative nancy! I'm so sorry we try to build up the world while you like to hack it down to size.

  4. Knock it off with the word inflation! by jtownatpunk.net · · Score: 4, Insightful

    A remote controlled airplane is not a UAV. A remote controlled multi-rotor is not a drone.

  5. Other way around by Dan+East · · Score: 2

    3D-Printed UAV Can Go From Atoms to Airborne in 24 Hours

    And even more impressively, it can go from Airborne to Atoms in only 2 seconds.

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