3D Printed Micro Robot by Georgia Tech

More details about the project:

https://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/robotics-hardware/video-friday-georgia-tech-3d-printed-micro-bristle-bot

DIY drone from carboard mixed with some electronics and connected with Circuit Scribe conductive ink

3D Printed Transforming Drone with Samara Autorotating Wings

Project description:

Published on - IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters Vol. 4 Issue 3
Title - Dynamics and Control of a Collaborative and Separating Descent of Samara Autorotating Wings
Authors - Shane Kyi Hla Win, Luke Soe Thura Win, Danial Sufiyan, Gim Song Soh and Shaohui Foong

Abstract - To deliver lightweight sensor payloads to disaster-struck areas bymeans of an aerial deployment, a novel bio-inspired method capitalizing on autorotation to slow down vertical descent rate is proposed. This concept is illustrated using the samara autorotating wing (SAW) platform, which features a unique collaborative mode where multiple individual units are attached mechanically together to form a collective rotor hub for increased controllability. This rotor is designed with a simple de-centralized separation mechanism to detach into singular units during flight upon command, catering to different mission profiles. The dynamic models for singular state and collaborative rotor hub state were developed, and free-flight simulations were conducted in different modes including the separation stage and control performance for both states was analyzed. Experiments were set up for increased motion-capture region and free-flight drop tests and separation flights were carried out to verify the simulations. Finally, using a multi-rotor as an aerial launch platform, control performance for the single-winged state was evaluated in real-world conditions.

Great 3D Printing Projects by GlytchTech

I just found GlytchTech and he has some really cool 3D printing projects.




NAVI drone project page: https://hackaday.io/project/20793-navi-hey-listen

MIT Software for Drone Design

MITCSAIL developed an interactive system for computational design, optimization, and fabrication of multicopters. The computational approach allows non-experts to design, explore, and evaluate a wide range of different multicopters




Project paper in PDF: http://cfg.mit.edu/sites/cfg.mit.edu/files/copter.pdf

Hopefully this software will be open sourced one day. I could not find it online.

DIY Open Source 3D Printable Submersible Glider Drone

Alex Williams developed and built this sophisticated open source submersible glider drone. 3D printed elements are the main components.


Project description:

There has been a breakthrough with low cost autonomous drones and as this capability has matured a wide range of hobby and commercial applications have developed. There are no affordable extended duration underwater exploration platforms and this project aims to address this need. 

Utilising commodity hardware, 3D printed parts and an open-source autopilot, I aim to produce a low cost and versatile underwater glider capable of extended missions of up to weeks at a time. I hope that by having this platform available, it would reduce the cost of underwater projects for all, from hobbyists, amateur scientists to seafood farmers

Video of mechanical motion, buoyancy drive, and central mass movement assembly:





Underwater testing of the glider in a pond:




Project Hackaday.io page with all the details:

https://hackaday.io/project/20458-open-source-underwater-glider

Building and Flying 3D Printable OpenRC Quadcopter

Anton from Sweden documented his process of building and flying a modified version OpenRC beta quadcopter.






Anton's YT channel:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_JCcNvW0Tr3rAGC2-8zxbA

Christoph 3D Printes a Brushless Motor to Power his Flying Wing

Christoph Laimer designed and made a very functional DC brushless electric motor.

Here is a test of his 3d printed brushless motor, it explodes above 30000 RPM:




Project homepage with data and files:

http://www.makesea.com/brushless-motor


He used this motor on a DIY RC flying wing with success. He even developed and 3d printed the propeller.




Here is a link for the propeller page.

Tom Stanton 3D Prints his RC Flying Wing

Tom Stanton show us his trials and tribulations to get a 3d printed flying wing RC aircraft in the air. Interesting watch if you are into this hobby.

Here is his first video where he goes into design and basic parts printing:



Here is the fully 3d printed flying wing being developed and tested:



The aircraft was printed from clear PLA filament with a 0,4mm nozzle at 220 degree Celsius to maximise the layer strength. Weight of the aircraft was 730g.

Tom's Thingiverse page:

http://www.thingiverse.com/StantonFrames/about

BoxBotix Open Source Robotics Platform

BoxBotix is an open source robotics platform that uses 3d printed modules to create several different types of robots.

BoxBotix introduction video:



Quadcopter configuration:




BBTank with 3d printed threads made from TPE using a Lulzbot Taz6




BotBotix homepage:

https://boxbotix.com/

Project homepage on Wevolver with all the files and build instructions:

https://www.wevolver.com/coby.leuschke/boxbotix/main/description/

Cheap 3D Printable RC Plane

If you own a 3d printed and want to get into RC flying on a low budget, here is a great project that will get you in the air.

Here is a very detailed build guide from design in CAD software to first flight instructions on Instructables:

http://www.instructables.com/id/Design-Test-Print-Build-an-Aerodynamic-RC-Plane-Tu/?ALLSTEPS

Low Cost Fully 3D Printed UAV Developed by Airbus

Thor is a fully 3D printable UAV (unmanned aircraft vehicle) developed by Airbus with production price of some 20000 Euro. The cost could probably go even further down, but it is many times cheaper when compared with simillar drones.
Thor is made of some 50 3D printed parts, two electric motors, and a remote control with some 4 weeks needed for printing and assembly. It weights 25 kg and has some 4 meters in wingspan.
It has some 40 km in range and 18 successful flight missions behind it.

Here is the video presentation (in German):



Source and more info:

http://www.airbus.com/newsevents/news-events-single/detail/airbus-tests-high-tech-concepts-with-an-innovative-3d-printed-mini-aircraft/

Orbital Composites Advanced Carbon Fiber 3D Printing

Orbital Composites is a company which developed advanced carbon fiber and wire 3d printing with applications in space additive manufacturing. It should enable future missions to 3d print satellites and objects in orbit or to 3d print drones with carbon fiber structures.

Here is the interview with Orbital Composites Founder and CEO Cole Nielsen and presentation of their tech:



Orbital Composites homepage:

http://www.orbitalcomposites.com/

Coaxial extruder nozzle developed by Orbital Composites. It should deliver 10x increase in print speed. 

Coaxial extruder that can extrude carbon fiber,  plastic wire, solder epoxies and other materials.

Low-cost Easy 3D Printed RC Flying Wing

Samm Sheperd demonstrates how easy and cheap it is to develop and 3d print a flying wing pod that houses first person camera, transmitter, controls, motor, batter, drive shaft and propeller for a RC plane.

Her is a video of his design flying:



Here is a Thingiverse with all the files you need to print it yourself:

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1412963

CRACUNS flying and diving 3D printed drone

Johns Hopkins University developed 3d printed quadcopter drone that can both fly and be submerged under water. Since it was developed in cooperation with the military it will be probably be used as a weapon system sometime in the future. Cool technology, but we need more food delivery drones and less war-bots. It is named CRACUNS, which stands for "Corrosion Resistant Aerial Covert Unmanned Nautical System".




From the news article:

“Engineers at APL have long worked on both Navy submarine systems and autonomous UAVs,” said Jason Stipes of APL’s Sea Control Mission Area, project manager for CRACUNS. “In response to evolving sponsor challenges, we were inspired to develop a vehicle that could operate both underwater and in the air.” The resulting CRACUNS prototype system was developed and tested using internal research and development funding.

CRACUNS enables new capabilities not possible with existing UAV or UUV platforms. Its ability to operate in the harsh littoral (shore) environment, as well as its payload flexibility, enables a wide array of potential missions.
The most innovative feature of CRACUNS is that it can remain at and launch from a significant depth without needing structural metal parts or machined surfaces.To make that possible, the team needed to overcome two big challenges. First, the APL team leveraged advances in additive manufacturing and novel fabrication techniques available at the Laboratory’s extensive fabrication facilities. The team fabricated a lightweight, submersible, composite airframe able to withstand the water pressure experienced while submerged.

The second significant challenge was to ensure CRACUNS could not just survive, but operate effectively in a corrosive saltwater environment. To do that, the APL team sealed the most sensitive components in a dry pressure vessel. For the motors that are exposed to salt water, APL applied commercially available protective coatings. The team tested the performance of the motors by submerging them in salt water. Two months later, they showed no sign of corrosion and continued to operate while submerged.

Full press release:

http://www.jhuapl.edu/newscenter/pressreleases/2016/160317.asp

Syknet will know how to use this little guy

Aurora Flight Sciences 3D Printed UAV with Jet Power

Project description:

Aurora Flight Sciences, a Virginia-based manufacturer specializing in advanced UAV systems, is pushing the envelope of UAV design by teaming up with Stratasys to create the world’s first jet-powered, 3D printed aircraft.

Using 80% 3D printed parts, the UAV is composed of Stratasys’ ULTEM™ 9085 lightweight material to achieve flight speeds of over 150 Mph. The high-speed system boasts an impressive 9 ft wingspan and weighs in at only 33 lbs.

Press release with much more information:

http://www.aurora.aero/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/SSYS_News_2015_11_9_Stratasys_Corporate.pdf

SLA 3D Printed Working DIY RC Micro Drone "Air-Form 1"

Thingiverse user "niklasm" designed and 3d printed a fully working micro RC drone from tough resin on a Form 1.

Technical specifications:

• battery: 150mAh
• thrust: 54g
• weight: 60g
• wingspan: 58cm
• dihedral: 15deg
• flight time: 11min

Non-Printed Parts:

• specktrum ar6410
• 150mAh battery
• laTrax motor
• laTrax bearings
• laTrax gear/propshaft
• laTrax prop
• 3/32in X 7/32in X 3ft rectangular carbon rod
• 3/16in carbon tube
• 7/64 carbon rod
• 3ft X 3in X 3/32 balsa board
• 1/32in music wire
• superglue

All the files to make it and instructions can be found at:

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1051655

Hexacopter Rapid Development with 3D Printers

One day soon there will be thousands and thousands of different models of DIY copters and robots moving around. What is now in hands of hackers, makers and hobbyists will become ubiquitous like bicycles...

This is just a preview of things to come and you will probably be able to make on your low cost home machine.



Description:

Students at Wentworth Institute of Technology were challenged to develop a functional hexacopter using six different manufacturing processes, including 3D printing. 95% of the 3D printed components were produced using the Stratasys uPrint SE and Objet30 3D Printers.

Red Swan Large Wingspan Fully 3D Printed RC Flying Wing

Here is a largest fully 3d printed and flying RC model airplane. It has no reinforcements and it reaches almost 2 meters in wingspan. Really pushing the limits of possible there.

Technical Specifications

• wing span: 1950 mm
• wing chord: 336 mm
• aerodynamic center: 80.2 mm
• aerodynamic center 8% stability: 61.4 mm
• wing profil: Clark YS
• wing overall weight: 1520 g
• wing area: 65,52 dm²
• fuselage overall weight 730 g
• wing loading: 34,3 g/dm²
• longitudinal stability (Thies) STFs: 65,0
• motor: Robbe Roxxy BL Outrunner 2834-08
• propeller: Aeronaut CAM 10 x 6”
• static thrust: 1100 g (3S Lipo)
• print time wing: 120 h
• print time fuselage: 35 h
• used PLA: 1.8 kg

Here are take-off, flight and lending in a video:





You can find all the files and instructions at Thingiverse:

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:453090

Fathom Underwater Drone

3d printing is used here for prototyping of a small underwater submersible drone or R.O.V. Is the revolution in submersible DIY robots here? Quadcopters are everywhere, we need more submarines!




Company homepage:

http://www.fathomdrone.com/

More information:

http://www.rapidgrowthmedia.com/innovationnews/0129fathom.aspx

If you are interested in submersible DIY vehicles OpenROV is a must-see project:

http://www.openrov.com/