3D printing: The world's first printed plane

New Scientist ^ | 8/1/11

[LibWhacker]

The promise of 3D printing has finally taken off with the development of a drone that takes just a week to create

Under darkening skies on a grass airstrip in the UK's Wiltshire Downs, north of Stonehenge, I am watching half a dozen aeronautical engineers rushing to assemble an uncrewed aircraft before the weather takes a turn for the worse. They are hoping to show how 3D printing will revolutionise the economics of aircraft design – by flying the world's first fully "printed" plane.

Led by Andy Keane and Jim Scanlan of the University of Southampton, the team believes that 3D printing will soon allow uncrewed aircraft known as drones or UAVs to go from the drawing board to flight in a matter of days. No longer, they say, will one design of UAV be repeatedly manufactured on a production line. Instead, designers will be able to fine-tune a UAV for each specific application – whether it be crop spraying, surveillance or infrared photography – and then print a bespoke plane on demand.

[driftdiver]

Call me when the have nanobots which can build the thing from a a pile of metal dust.

[balch3]

that’s coming, too.

[Eye of Unk]

Well I do believe they have nanobots that can be inserted into a person and actually programmed to perform certain duties like artery cleaning, experimental stuff that doesn’t hit the news.
Its not beyond our current level of technology to create self replicating nanobots.

[ROCKLOBSTER]

Shirly it must only “print” the fuselage and not the engine and other high-tech mechanicals and electronics.

[LibWhacker]

That’s correct. Maybe someday in the future.

[fedupjohn]

Don't call me Shirley.

[RipSawyer]

Now if we could make nanobots that would enter the brains of creatures such as Chrissy, Algore, Obummer, and others and clean out the garbage we would really have something.

[Eye of Unk]

Yeah I have some of those, sadly they travel much too fast and are terribly stupid.

[thackney]

Each layer is then “printed” by training a laser beam on a bed of polyamide plastic, stainless steel or titanium powder.

This does metal as well as plastic.

[driftdiver]

nanobots are way cooler though

[knarf]

HERE

[apillar]

I can picture a trip to the car dealer in a couple decades.

You've chosen the XL-19 extended frame. Excellent Choice! Now choose your color scheme. Now choose your extra features. Ok, give us about 15 minutes while your new car is printed out, if your would like to watch, come over to this window.

It's going to be an amazing world! Unless of course you're an auto worker, in which case your going to be relegated to the same category as the blacksmith and buggy whip maker.

[DJ MacWoW]

Click The Pic

No people will tamely surrender their Liberties, nor can any be easily subdued, when knowledge is diffused and Virtue is preserved. On the Contrary, when People are universally ignorant, and debauched in their Manners, they will sink under their own weight without the Aid of foreign Invaders.

[Mike Darancette]

Its not beyond our current level of technology to create self replicating nanobots.

You would have to give them a means and desire to (1) protect themselves and (2) give them a lifespan so that they would not take over the planet. Of course the first thing they might do is a use (1) to attempt to circumvent (2).

[pyx]

Call me when the have nanobots which can build the thing from a a pile of metal dust.

The process called Voxel Fabbing AKA (VoxFab) describes how a "pile of metal dust" uses specifically selected nanospheres to build up layer upon layer until a final object is created.