It is definitely not just another hobby idea by a creative mind. It is one of the biggest milestones of the Airbus group, an aviation giant company situated in France. Airbus has been a pioneer in making use of the 3D print technology with their A350 XWB being a perfect example.
The company had announced the launch of Thor, for quite some time, expressing a desire to fabricate a fleet of 3D printed planes in future. Thor which stands for’ Test of Hi-tech Objectives in Reality’ would be employed for aerodynamic researches and risky operations have the following features-
• 50 3D printed components
• 2 electric motors
• A remote control
This unmanned vehicle is 46 pounds in weight and 13 feet in length. It can be easily manufactured in a months’ time and was recently launched at an air show in Berlin. This 3D printed plane could just pave the way for many more innovations in the aeronautics and aerospace industries in collaboration with the 3D print technology. In these applications safety and quality always find priority.
Airbus has collaborated with companies like Alcoa for producing their fleet of 3D print parts for drones. Boeing too, has not remained far behind and started using 3D printed tools for their air craft’s and is using innovative tools like 3D print ice for making the certification procedures easy.
How effective these innovations are for the future can be witnessed by the self-sustenance a company reaches on adopting this technology. The 3D print technology process gives the advantage of attaining better speed, superior quality, and cost effectiveness for developing a component by a company and gives it an edge over others in the competition.
Tag: Thor
The mini aircraft Thor was showcased at the Berlin air show this week. This airbus is the world’s first mini plane and was an absolute show stopper owing to its remarkable 3 D print technology which is all set to change the future of the aviation world.
At 46 pounds and 13 feet length, this windowless aircraft drone called Thor-“Test of Hi-Tech Objectives in Reality”, is expected to save time, money, and resources.
Detlev Konigorsk, the person responsible for developing the Thor, for the European aerospace power Airbus, was quoted saying at the International aerospace exhibition and air show at Berlin that, “This is a test of what’s possible with 3D printing technology,”. He further went on to say that the development process would become faster and easier by using a technology that would design the entire system than just the sub-parts.
A substance called polyamide has been used to develop this mini aircraft (expect the electrical circuit) and it is extremely stable and smooth in flight. This was confirmed by the chief engineer Gunnar Haase, who conducted Thor’s first flight last November, near Hamburg, Germany.
The competition gets tougher-
3D printing technology is already being used by Airbus and the American counterpart Boeing, for developing parts of the A350 and B787 Dreamliner passenger jets. Jens Henzler of Bavaria-based Hofmann Innovation Group has stated that with the use of 3D print technology, the pieces will be made very quickly and would not require tools for manufacturing. He also said that the production waste would become null and the metal parts would be 30-50 % lighter than before.
European Space agency (ESA) would use this print technology in designing the Ariane 6 that is set to blast off in 2020. This would bring down the cost of production by 50% of its predecessor Ariane 5.
Future Innovations-
The 3D print technology would be making pieces up to 40 cm that could be used in elaborate designs.
The Airbus is conducting tests to print a complex injection assembly that was earlier composed of 270 parts to reduce it to simplified design of 3 parts. This would save costs and be environment-friendly as it would save fuel and reduce pollutants emitted in the air.
The air traffic is expected to double up in the next 20 years and hence, an innovation has to be designed to reduce carbon emissions in the air. Ralf Fuecks, head of the Heinrich Boell foundation, addressed a conference at the ILA event with Airbus President Tom Enders, emphasised the importance of 3D print technology for aviation.
The future is optimistic with 70 % people stating that by 2030 the aircraft parts will be printed at airports itself and 51% said that the entire plane will be built using 3D print technology, according to the survey reports of Bitkom, a German hi-tech federation.
Source: 3Dprint.com
The most secretive part of a superhero is the identity. All of them have hidden identities so that they fit into the real world. The man behind Batman’s cowl is Bruce Wayne and the one behind the mask of Spiderman is Peter Parker. Now it’s your chance to play the alter ego of any comic character of your choice.
The credit of transforming fantasies not reality goes to a UK based retailer named, Firebox. The retailer specializes in novelty toys and gadgets. The company promises to create action figurines of Batman, Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, Batgirl and Superman. The twist in this is that they can replace the action hero’s face with yours! To get this shift of alter ego you need to send two photographs, one in profile and done direct. The company then uses 3D imaging software to create a 3D model of the customer. The models that are generated are quite detailed as facial shape, eye color, skin color and tone and even hairstyle all are similar to the photograph given by the customer. The price of the customized action figurine is £80.
The key feature of the company being able to generate these action figurines is 3D printing. This technology has surely reformed the toy industry and at last companies can bid adieu to the traditional moulds system for generating toys. While Firebox might be the first company to have used this technology to customize superhero action figurines there might be many other companies which will walk done this lane very soon!
Image Credit: JD Hancock (flickr handle: jdhancock)