3D printed planes and wings: Top tips to make the first build go great!

[@jamesemery1]

tip 16# don't leave your pla model in a vehicle on a hot sunny day especially when it's a dark vehicle in full sun, it can suffer with "drooping". An engineers deburring tool is excellent tool for the removal of the printing mat (elephants foot). A gas cigarette lighter is a quick and clean way of removing string hairs from prints (just be very quick or you will melt your print). Try not to fly when its raining or put your model on wet grass/ground Pla is a sponge for moisture and add in UV light it can weaken your print and in some cases it can make the print brittle (differs from one brand of pla to another, some are less affected by water and UV) also increases your "weight" of the plane. I personally use the most viscous CA glue I can find as I'm shit at airfix kits lol. Good luck with the maiden. Stay safe Lee

[@The_Privateer]

Having built that same Eclipson model (and others - from Eclipson, and other companies) The (minor) added expense and extra time needed to setup light weight PLA are **completely** worth it. Just do it. It's really the most functional material to use. Once you've configured and fine-tuned your printer and slicer to get perfect results from it, you'll never go back.

[@tubamanandy2]

Not the easiest material to print with though - PLA much easier

[@BikeGuyFPV]

3:30 I like the Tron Legacy light cycles sitting on the shelf in the back!

[@Painless360]

Well spotted. There are Lightcycles from both movies on there :D

[@davidreynolds8551]

I’ve made a 3D printed plane as well, not that one it’s a bit smaller and it took me about 4 days of printing time to finish. It has different sections in different colours, but they match on opposite sides. I haven’t set up motors, servos, receivers and esc’s as yet, but I’m glad that I took the time to watch your video, you’ve mentioned some great tips and I’ll take them to heart. Looking forward to seeing yours finished and your flights. Hope you have an enjoyable time with it and that you don’t have too many problems with it. No doubt you’ll probably have to do a few minor adjustments with it, as you would with most planes when testing them.

[@matthewallen3375]

Great tip as always Lee.

[@ShahriarFarkhan]

Thank you for this. I'm waiting for my first spool of LW-PLA so I can start printing my first RC plane. I've subscribed :)

[@FATSNAIL-FPV]

For everyone thinking about 3d printing a plane: Eclipson Model A. Follow Lee's tips and bam! Also: I put 3m hinge tape (50mm wide) over the leading edge of the wing. Broke a fuselage, but still no wing needed replacement.

[@jeremysargent5037]

Great tips especially the one about the carbon rods.

[@johncarold]

Hi Lee Thanks Steve, I just feel in love with this model, I used to love building plastic models when I was young. And then you mentioned that you were thinking about building this model, I started looking at different models and this one looks fast. I just wanted one with a clear plastic print. I don't know if it would be possible, but I would like to fill it with LED's, and then I could fly this at night. And yes I would love a headtracker system installed. Thanks again for this video and information.

[@jamesemery1]

you can easily buy clear pla

[@johncarold]

@@jamesemery1 Thanks James

[@edivollgas719]

Great news You move into this . You already teased me showing the eclipson vtol model in this video. A painless quality tutorial for a printed tailsitter vtol would have a big effect enabling a lot of people to follow in this very interesting area I think. Thank You very much PS: also think LW PLA is the way to go and made a wood panel 300x300mm with sandpaper attached to my workbench for all the deburring and straightening of the mating surfaces.

[@kkuenzel56]

A Machinists deburring tool works great on trimming the "elephant's foot" from your printed parts.

[@Painless360]

That is a great idea! I'll have to try that next time!

[@av8za]

@@Painless360 just make sure you get a descent one. The cheap blades wreck your prints, speaking from experience. The new one is a pleasure to use and very quick to clean up elephants foot

[@bkpickell]

I just run a razor blade around it. Takes five seconds per piece. Never knew it was a problem.

[@hamesparde9888]

I bought the files for a Zero. I think it probably took about 2 days to print. I got a second printer though. So using octopi I can easily control both printers from my computer and print the plane in half the time. I crashed the plane the third time I flew it though. I don't have much experience flying rc planes and so I'm not very good at flying them. Also I didn't put the motor at the correct angle and so it was turning (the plane). I did try adjusting the ailerons to account for it. Which made it better but I think I made it turn the other way (not as badly though.) Anyway I crashed it straight into the ground and the wing crumpled all along the leading edge, but didn't break in half. It was actually pretty cool. The front of the plane basically exploded and the motor was actually slight embedded in the ground. Anyway the back of the plane was fine so I've reprinted the front and the wing. The thing that I think is really cool about being able to print a plane is that although it still takes a while to put together it's a lot less time than making a plane out of foam core stuff. I made a couple of planes out of foam core and the second one did fly but I crashed it pretty fast and it was sort of demoralizing (I mean it's fun putting them together, but it's not so fun when you crash them almost straight away because your not very good at flying them yet.) So I think it's cool that you can just print new parts and once the parts are printed you can assemble a plane significantly faster then you would other wise be able to.

[@Jwmbike14]

I would HIGHLY recommend my 3D Printed Gremlin. It flies very similar to the Nano Goblin, prints in about 24hrs, goes together easily. And is fairly durable as far as 3d printed planes goes. A printed airframe can be assembled in ~30min from a crashed donor. I'd also stress that being accurate and making the perfect build is nice, and sure makes it look pretty, but definitely not required. You'll never know the difference if your joints aren't perfect.

[@trevornelson7524]

Ive printed and built the edf version of this plane. Havent flown it yet tho.

[@user-28492b]

Did someone reseach if there are any ligt foams we can use to fill model, so you cap print thicker walls and foam will help to keep shape?

[@adampeters1346]

Great video and thanks for sharing Lee!! really agree with the all the tips and the points about making a few extra tabs, found that they are very handy to line up flat sections of fuselage etc.

[@wearemany73]

Seems like an interesting channel, which type of 3d printer do I need to make this model? I want to make a 3d printed seagull to fly on the coast.

[@Painless360]

Ender V3 or similar. See my 3D printing series..

[@adamrosenberg4367]

Always love your videos!

[@papamidnightfpv]

That plane looks great. I have the same model but the edf version half built. I break all of them so I'm slow to finish the build. I have been glassing my planes lately and I like the durability but they take more power. I really hope this flight goes well for you

[@TheFeday]

Interesting, I have been wanting to glass a printed plane as well. How sturdy do they become when ready?

[@HartogMarcoDen]

I glaas my 3d printed planes always with epoxy. Reason is that the planes easuly breaks when landing on a rough terrain. Now they are durable. Ilove the ModelR of eclipson .

[@papamidnightfpv]

@@TheFeday I've been glassing my foam planes and it makes them way tough unless you hit something hard. They only one I've had break was a glassed flite test foam board a10 and eventually the fuse snapped in half but totally repairable. So far I've done it to a dart 250, heewing ranger and AR wing pro.

[@amirhosseinmahmoudi9717]

Wow this is very good

[@Trevellian]

There are a number of lightweight foaming filaments like polypropylene that are made for this type of use.

[@Jay-zc7iq]

Try Julius padera he makes a great wing called the berkik3 fantastic slow flyer and easily made in a session or two , well worth a look

[@cyclops-fpv]

I've found emery cloth too harsh,i use a womens nail file set to remove flashing,a metal one then a fine lollipop style two sided file,rough/smooth.good for printed stuff,plastic and carbon.

[@Painless360]

I was using a nail file emery board too but liked the cleaner cuts from the blade. The suggestion of using a burr removal tool is a fab one!

[@sUASNews]

Such a shame that Rob at Flying Wings stopped making EPP wings, the UK really did have a winner in his company. The electricity and fiddle factor in 3D printing wings really does add up. I am nursing the wings I still have from him, one day I might well be printing my own.

[@SoloRenegade]

use yours as a template, make them yourself

[@rcpowres]

Thanks for sharing!👍👍👍👍

[@MCsCreations]

Really excellent tips, Lee! Thanks a lot! 😃 But yeah, I've already used medium CA glue and it works great for many applications! Anyway, stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊

[@medokhrowe6704]

Really cool

[@MasboyRC]

Impressive 👌

[@TheRyansmall]

You should have built this with LW-PLA. I have built many of these, both with PLA and LW-PLA. The lightweight makes a HUGE difference.

[@Painless360]

Whatever motor and prop setup would you recommend?

[@dihler55]

Small tip for CA glue seams that turned white (especially if you used accelerator): If you put a little bit of vegetable oil on a paper towel and dab that on the glue seam it becomes clear and almost invisible again. Take care to use vegetable oil and no mineral oils as mineral oils can degrade plastics

[@Painless360]

Fab tip - thanks for sharing!

[@tedbrosky]

Great tips thanks a lot, I've built that plane but I found the CG was quiet tricky to get, after installing the electronics and putting the battery in the plane wouldn't balance on CG marks, how was your experience on that part ?

[@Painless360]

I'll cover the that in the next video. Was it too nose or tail heavy on yours?

[@tedbrosky]

@@Painless360 it was very unbalanced if i move the battery 1 cm it go from nose to tail heavy I couldn’t get it to balance on the CG marks, I haven’t tested it yet hopefully you have better experience than me

[@Painless360]

Good to know, I'll see how tricky it is on this one..

[@pilotlawaran]

how to determine thrust and wing surface needed?

[@Painless360]

That is a small question, but a big answer.... See my motor and prop series for ideas... Happy flying

[@hackmedia7755]

what axis or orientation are you printing the wing sections?

[@Painless360]

Vertical. Every section has a 'flat end'. Best of luck

[@fbwa6452]

Wow 8 days for the Whitewing is kinda too much. I'm printing Model-S in one shot 48h. But the Whitewing is the best for practice. Also something is definitely broken on Steve's process due to brim should be removed much more easily compare what you've showed. PLA+ from eSun is one of the best filament for 3D printing but I'm using ABS+ from Devil Design due to heat resistance and weight. Good luck with your 3D printed plane it's so much fun :) Model-S is the best model so far I've printed and enjoyed. Orca v2 would be also interesting for you as well but it likes speeeeed :)

[@gadgetrc94]

Can you have your friend recommend a resource on how to dial in a printer?

[@Painless360]

See my videos on 3D Printing for RC.. best of luck

[@michaelmorrow2158]

Are the edf and eww interchangable with the wings

[@Painless360]

Not sure, I don't have the EDF version here. I'd guess so but Eclipson are the best ones to ask... Happy flying!

[@Elephantine999]

Your hair is looking good. ;)

[@hilljonathon]

Videos abit late xD, 3d printed my first plane and hard nose crash on the maiden. Don't think the CG was quite right! Bugger at least no electronics were harmed. Reprint and try again, only ~$20 worth of filament max so cheaper than a proper plane.

[@Painless360]

Best of luck with the next attempt!

[@frankyflowers]

try making a mould from it

[@deludedrich]

Another tip is to have a bottle of acetone ready for when you accidently superglue the wing to your hand...

[@Painless360]

Excellent tip! My fingerprints were not readable for about 3 days after the build!

[@MammothPaige]

Use light color pla

[@johnhersom6002]

awww man I just tried using PA360 at checkout with no success....must be expired?

[@Painless360]

Sounds like it. This is an older video... Happy flying

[@johnhersom6002]

@@Painless360 thank you for your reply! I’ve been watching a ton of your videos and truly appreciate your time and effort putting these together. You are the reason I have had the success that I have had thus far in my adventure into flight controllers on my fixed wings! I’ve been flying for 20+ years, but I am new to this stuff. Thanks again and take care.!

[@jwc4520]

Tried this a couple of times always problems with the wings ... alignment problems waste of carbon fiber tubes lol

[@Painless360]

This one seems good. Interested to see how it builds and fly.... Happy flying

[@motionsiik4964]

Love a 3D printed plane but man are they "break-y". Very fragile in grass landings, etc...

[@amritafagna130]

🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🍻🍻