3D PRINTED FLYING WING

Here, the drone can be seen atop the PVC pneumatic cannon- when I test fly, I'll be launching it off of this mainly so that the process is repeatable and I can know exactly how much force is enacted upon the drone, as opposed to the unpredictability of throwing it. After some testing though, throwing should be fine. You can get a good idea of the scale (~1 meter wingspan) in these photos.

CAD RENDERINGS- I've designed this aircraft with one thing taking primary importance: modularity. 3D printing and additive manufacturing as a whole lends itself to creating larger objects in smaller pieces as opposed to traditional subtractive methods of manufacturing. Taking full advantage of this in my design, I've designed, built, and will soon be test flying a wing that can be configured for many roles by simply unscrewing and reattaching the desired parts. No glue or adhesives are used- every single part is screw in and replaceable. Pre-existing parts or specialty parts specific to the mission can be attached and replaced at will. A good example of this is the position of the motor- depending on the role, the motor can be placed in either the front or the rear to compensate for center of gravity shifts brought about by payload. For less radical shifts, small things like part infill can be tweaked in areas where, for a given role, it would be more advantageous to reduce weight at the price of structural integrity, or vice versa. At the end of the day, my method is cheaper and more versatile than comparable platforms, and is also extremely accessible- anyone with a 3D printer can take advantage of the design.

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