3D Printing carbon fiber wing struts and gear legs and spars?

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Posted (edited)

I was reading a story about a guy that wanted to make carbon fiber tubing for bicycle custom builds. He designed and built a machine that does it on the cheap. I can see how his mandrel could just as easily been shaped like an aerodynamic wing strut and lengthened to produce wing struts. His round mandrel would also work for producing carbon fiber wing spars and leading and trailing edge components too. The future is looking bright.

Here's a link to his article or at the Hackaday website. https://hackaday.com/2019/01/18/an-arduino-carbon-fiber-wrapping-machine/

 

And here's the link the the machine designers detailed page. https://bryanmkevan.bike/2018/12/16/carbon-framebuilding-das-faserwickelmaschine/

 

 

Edited by Cloud Dancer
added an additional link

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Posted

Years ago before I got into flying, I used to go canoeing in the Canadian boundry waters north of Mn.  I had a custom made carbon faber paddle made that weighed only 12 oz.  The guy made the shaft of the paddle just like this, on a tapered shaft.  He had some spare shafts sitting there that were maybe 3' long.  They felt like they didn't weigh anything, but when I laid one between two tables, I could put all my weight on the center of it without it breaking.  I think this would be a real good way to make wing spars, if someone understood what they were doing.  Maybe especially on an ultralight or hang glider type craft where weight is even more crucial then on our planes.  JImChuk

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Posted

I found an affordable way to make carbon fiber tubing. A guy I follow on YouTube builds flying wing sail planes. He's currently building a new version of his flying wing glider. Jim mentioned canoe paddles, this method would be great for the shaft of a paddle. It might work for gear legs too if you layer it.

 

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