UK engineers build printed airplane

Engineers in the United Kingdom in July built and flown what they called the world's first "printed" aircraft —produced by a 3-D printer. The Southampton University's Laser Sintered Aircraft (SULSA) was printed layer by layer on an EOS EOSINT P730 nylon laser sintering machine. "No fasteners were used and all equipment was attached using ‘snap fit’ techniques so that the entire aircraft can be put together without tools in minutes," the University of Southampton said in a news release. Once completed, the electric-powered aircraft features a two-meter wingspan, a top speed of 100 miles per hour, and even a miniature autopilot. Professor Jim Scanlon, one of the leaders of the project team, said laser sintering is flexible enough to let the design team revisit techniques that would have been "prohibitively expensive" with conventional manufacturing. Laser sintering also allows a designer to create shapes and structures - such as a highly tailored aircraft - within days, compared to months using traditional manufacturing techniques. "Another design benefit that laser sintering provides is the use of an elliptical wing planform. Aerodynamicists have, for decades, known that elliptical wings offer drag benefits. The Spitfire wing was recognised as an extremely efficient design but it was notoriously difficult and expensive to manufacture. Again laser sintering removes the manufacturing constraint associated with shape complexity and in the SULSA aircraft there is no cost penalty in using an elliptical shape," added co-leader Professor Andy Keane. The University of Southampton is now launching a groundbreaking course to let students take a Master's Degree in unmanned autonomous vehicle (UAV) design. Starting September 2011, postgraduates can take part in a one-year first-of-its-kind program covering the design, manufacture and operation of robotic vehicles. "The degree will cover marine, land-based and pilotless aircraft, typically used in environments that are deemed unsafe or uneconomic, such as exploration under sea ice, or monitoring gas emissions from volcanic eruptions. NASA expects UAVs to become 'standard tools' in fields such as agriculture, earth observation and climate monitoring." the university said. — TJD, GMA News