Clark-y wing test section (similar to 3dlabprint)

thingiverse

NEW complete wing http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2022750 This is my idea for a wing similar to the ones designed by 3dlabprint. Eventually this will be the wing for an 1100mm (200mm wing + 35mm ailerons) "ugly" stick that will be mostly 3d printed, the fuselage is designed and after some test prints I will post it as well. This wing prints differently than most others I have seen, in slic3r I set it to print at 100% infill, one perimeter, no top or bottom layers & no supports. These settings seem to work well with a .35mm tip on my prusa I3 with PLA. I have NOT printed the complete wing pannel yet & have not included any way to join the pannels or anyway to attach the ailerons, I will update the design files as soon as I am happy with them. The included files are for a 175mm wide pannel with a 200mm chord and a 35mm aileron. Software used for this design, 123d Design & Inkscape. The overall process is fairly simple, lay out the rib structure cut away any thing that isnt a rib, add the skin and required structures, However there are lots of steps and it does take time and requires patience, saving frequently at major stages as seperate documents will reduce frustration, I had to restart a number of times. Design overview (kinda long) I started with 2 200mm x 500mm grids 25mm apart in 123d Design (these instructions assume knowlege of 123D Design or other 3d CAD programs, remember to save frequently this does take time to do). I laid out a 2d drawing in one grid of straight ribs at about a 30 degree angle spaced 50mm apart and on the other grid at about a 70 degree agle spaced at 60mm. Using these lines I then laid a 3 point curve on each line, I then removed the straight lines. Now I built each rib up one at a time, first by using the extrude tool to extrude the space between 2 ribs to 40mm high, then I modified that raised area by pulling it 1mm to the right (it doesn't matter left or right it just needs to be the same direction on all the ribs), next I re-extruded the same rib space erasing all but the 1mm strip, then I used the modify tool to pull the rib to the left 0.6mm and from the right side push the rib back the original 1mm, all that should remain is the 0.6mm rib. This is done for each rib on each of the grids, in the end we are left with a series of 0.6mm ribs on each grid, next the ribs on each layout need to be merged into single groups one for each layout. Then selecting one of the merged layouts and then moving it so the 2 lay outs overlap them merge them. The next step is to get a template of the airfoil you intend to use, I use http://airfoiltools.com/plotter/index to generate the airfoil. I used Clark-Y for this wing, on AirfoilTools select clarkyh-il ClarkY from the drop down list, the only option that needs to be changed is to set the chord length, remember to add the aileron width to the chord length in this case 200mm + 35 for the aileron, you can adjust other properties here if you like, then hit the plot button. Below the plot image there will be an option to save as an SVG image, save this. Now that you have the airfoil you need clean it up, this can be done in Inkscape and then imported into your wing file or imported directly into the 123D Design file and cleaned up there. After cleaning up the SVG file we need to mark out the aileron, mark the spar location, the lightening holes and any additional pin locations, I also add a 10 to 20mm frame around the entire airfoil. This should look similar to a framed balsa rib from a kit at this point. With the prepared airfoil drawing we need to align it with the wing ribs about 25mm away and extrude it once toward the ribs as the parts to make holes and once away from the ribs to make the structure, I used 10mm for this in each direction, these extrusions need to be split, I cut 10 mm from the centre leaving a 5mm extrusion on each side, we need to expand the outer perimeter of the extrusion farthest from the ribs by 0.35mm (this will become the skin), re-extrude through it leaving the structures we need to add and the wing skin, now we need to seperate the components out from these. I then select the 2d frame outline and extrude it across the entire rib set, this should cut away everything that isnt a rib or wing structure. Next I use the closest extrusion (the holes) and extrude it through the ribs (use the face farthest from the ribs). Now we should have the complete rib set shaped and with the holes through it. Next extrude the skin and structures (use the face closest to the ribs) and pull it through the ribs, now we should have a wing complete with ribs, skin and other structures, the ailerons can be extruded using the same process later. The last steps are to trim the wing to the proper length and to combine the layers into one 3d object. Export, slice, print build & hopefully fly. I have added some of the 123D Design files and will try to do a video or more complete set of instructions later. ENJOY