Is 3D Printing Worth the Hype?
This is an excerpt from an article by Chad Sansing posted on SLJ.com If you’ve ever seen a 3-D printer at work, you know how mesmerizing it can be. LEDs flicker to life, fans and motors spin up to speed, and then, the print head (or nozzle) begins its dance back and forth along X- and Y-axis belt drives (and up and down the Z-axis), extruding its “make” into being onto the print plate. Equal parts robot, building blocks, and hot glue gun, 3-D printing is a technology that’s making its way into schools and libraries. The printers work like this: a print head draws plastic filament from a large reel, heats the filament, and then extrudes it onto a build plate to print in 3-D. The print head (and sometimes the build plate) move on X, Y, and Z axes following instructions from design files uploaded to the printer via USB cable or SD card. Once the heated filament hits the build plate, it cools quickly, so the print head can dash back and forth across cooled portions of the print and continue its additive work, building up to the top of the design. Of course, dash is a relative term. Complex [...]
Ten-motor Electric Plane Takes Off
The GL-10 prototype takes off in hover mode like a helicopter (Photo: NASA Langley/David C. Bowman) In seeking a compromise between helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft, engineers in recent years have opted for tilt rotors, but NASA has dusted off and improved on a tilt wing aircraft design that takes off and lands like a helicopter and flies like an airplane. Called the Greased Lightning, or GL-10, the unmanned prototype made a successful vertical takeoff and transition to horizontal flight at Fort A.P. Hill, not far from NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. One of the major challenges for aviation engineers is combining the vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) and hover capabilities of a helicopter with the speed and range of a fixed-wing aircraft. The V-22 Osprey and similar aircraft achieve this by rotating their engine nacelles while keeping their wings fixed because it's mechanically simpler and reduces crosswind drag. However, the GL-10 is an unmanned hybrid-electric aircraft that uses 10 electric motors for propulsion and NASA believes that a tilt wing is the better option for handling so many nacelles at once. Engineers David North (L) and Bill Fredericks (R) carry the Greased Lightning before one of its flight [...]
Chinese Space Program Builds 3D Printed Suit Connectors
This article is a repost from 3Dprint.com. The Feitian is a Chinese spacesuit developed for the Shenzhou 7 mission, and astronaut Zhai Zhigang wore it during China’s first-ever extravehicular activity (EVA) on September 27, 2008. The suit was modeled after the Orlan-M spacesuit developed by the Russian space program, designed to meet the requirements of spacewalks of up to seven hours by providing sufficient oxygen stores and allowing for the excretion of bodily waste. Chinese officials say the suit cost $4.4 million to build, weighed around 260 lbs, and was named using the Mandarin words for “flying” and “sky.” Now a research center operating as part of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation has used a 3D printer to build vent pipes and flanges to connect the next generation extravehicular space suit to an orbital vehicle. The designers say the vent pipe and the flange will improve the reliability and safety of the space suit while making the manufacturing process more efficient. Using the 3D printing technology was approved by the Scientific Research Training Center for Chinese Astronauts, and they say the plan is to use the suits for the country’s second orbiting space lab, Tiangong-2. The suits are expected to be [...]
Stratasys Direct Manufacturing’s Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) Services
Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) is one of the only professional 3D printing technologies that uses production-grade thermoplastics. Design and manufacturing engineers, design and engineering services as well as aerospace, automotive, medical and energy companies are using FDM. “With the broadest selection of engineering thermoplastic materials from ABS to ULTEM small, Stratasys Direct Manufacturing has helped customers apply the FDM process to a wide variety of product development and manufacturing needs.” — Chuck Alexander, Director of Product Management, Stratasys Direct Manufacturing Stratasys Direct Manufacturing requires an STL file for FDM services. The STL file format is a very common format that any CAD system can convert to making Direct Manufacturing accessible to just about everyone. Rather than selling machines, Stratasys Direct Manufacturing sells 3D printing services. As a part of the Stratasys organization, Stratasys Direct Manufacturing has the widest variety of available FDM services. You can find much more information directly on the Stratasys Direct Manufacturing site here.
Navy Uses 3D Printing Technology in Weapons Systems
The Navy has been using 3D printed parts on the Osprey tilt-rotor craft and plans to expand the uses of the technology. (Photo : Allen Onstott / U.S. Navy via Getty Images) The U.S. Navy explored fleet applications of additive manufacturing, or 3D printing, into naval weapons systems at the 2015 Naval Additive Manufacturing Technical Interchange (NAMTI) meeting at the Carderock Division of the Naval Surface Warfare Center. Hundreds of engineers, scientists, acquisition professionals and 3D printing experts, discussed naval applications of additive manufacturing for bio-printing, self-sustaining ships and energetics, such as military weapons. The U.S. Navy reports five ways it has used 3D printing technology successfully: Save money and time. Norfolk Naval Shipyard's Rapid Prototype Lab is saving the Navy thousands of dollars by printing cheaper plastic polymer models of aircraft carrier ship alterations in hours, rather than days or weeks for traditional wood or metal mockups. Innovative. The Navy's Fleet Readiness Center Southeast used the technology to develop an improved hydraulic intake manifold for the V-22 Osprey. The new manifold is 70 percent lighter, improves fluid flow and has less leak points. Customizable. By customizing 3D printed parts, the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center produces medical items, including [...]
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