3D-printed drone debuts at Dubai Airshow

Dubai - 3D printing has the potential to transform the production process of a wide range of products in the future.

For the first time in its 28-year history, the Dubai Airshow has included an entire pavilion to 3D printing technology, including the world's largest 3D printer and the first jet-powered 3D printed unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) ever created.
The dozens of 3D-printing exhibitors come from a wide variety of sectors, including aerospace, industrial manufacturing, art and architectural design, and even miniature 3D printing "pens" which can be used by children.
The jet-powered UAV - designed by a team from Stratasys and Aurora Flight Sciences - weighs only 15kg, can travel at speeds of over 150 mph and is 80 per cent 3D printed, except for the engine and software components.
"This is a perfect demonstration of the unique capabilities that additive manufacturing can bring to aerospace," said Scott Sevcik, aerospace and defence senior business development manager, Vertical Solutions at Stratasys. "Whether by air, water or on land, lightweight vehicles use less fuel. This enables companies to lower operational costs, as well as reduce environmental impact."
Jey Shelby, a Vertical Solutions applications engineer for Stratasys, told Khaleej Times that the UAV was designed and built specifically to show the enormous potential of 3D printing technology. "We brought this (UAV) to showcase how quickly we can go through the design and building process using additive manufacturing," he said. "It's designed to show that we can do it."
Largest 3D printer ever
Also on display was the "BigRep One", a one-cubic metre 3D printer which its designers say is the largest ever created.
"We see applications for many, many industries, which includes aviation, but also for artists, designers and universities," said BigRep CEO Rene Gurka.
Gurka said while 3D printing remains a relatively new technology, it has the potential to transform the production process of a wide range of products in the future.
"First it will be added to traditional manufacturing processes, but what we can do and what we see here is definitely that it is much easier to customise things," he said. "I'm totally convinced that the mass production we see today of many products, with low labour and being very cheaply done in Asia is going to decline.
"The creativity of people will be much easier to implement every day. A designer or an engineer can design an object during the day and print it overnight, and the next morning he sees his product. Right now, he'd need to wait weeks and weeks."
Gurka said he believes the inclusion of a 3D-print section at the airshow is a sign of how advanced the technology has become in a very short time.
"In the last two or three years, everybody was showing what can be done in general, and now we're doing applications for industry itself," he said. "We're even printing winglet prototypes and space shuttles that can be used for wind tunnel tests."
Now, doodle in 3D
The airshow's 3D-print pavilion also includes the "3Doodler", a pen which uses heated plastic that cools instantly, allowing one to "draw" a stable, solid structure.
"The 3Doodler is essentially the hot end of a 3D printer," explained Maxwell Bogue, cofounder and CEO of WobbleWorks, which produces the pen. "There's a motor that's driving it, a fan that's cooling it, and an active temperature control system that regulates the flow of plastic.
"It's literally a pen that lets you draw it. Architects could use it to make sketches of buildings, and I have crafts-people that use it for little items, like to decorate a purse. Schools are using it to teach physics and geometry classes, as well as sculpture and design."
bernd@khaleejtimes.com

• UAE