A cabin engineer for Airbus, Bastian Schaefer, has designed a private jet that is printable. Some of the parts are too large for today’s 3D printers but the plans are out there.
A few years ago, 3D printing was being used only for rapid prototyping in the airplane industry. Now, a few non-critical parts are being fabricated using 3D printing.
According to Popular Science, “For example, the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner includes 30 or so printed components—a record—but most of them are air ducts or hinges. That, too, could change. In November, NASA started printing parts to test for its next heavy-lift rocket. One company, DIYRockets, went even further: It launched a contest to develop an open-source, 3-D–printable rocket engine.”
Techniques like Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) and electron-beam melting give companies more options as do materials used in printers such as titanium, resin and ceramic.
In fact, students at the University of Virginia have printed an unmanned aerial vehicle using a 3D printer and flown it around an airfield.
Got an idea for your own personal, experimental aircraft? Just hit Print.
Sources
http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2013-06/future-flight-planes-will-be-printed
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