3D printed plane lowers cost, build time, complexity while increasing performance

3D printers don't just make funny shaped D&D dice. They're revolutionizing rapid design and manufacturing. According to New Scientist, a team from the University of Southampton has designed and built a fully functional UAV in one week and on a 5000-pound budget:

"With 3D printing we can go back to pure forms and explore the mathematics of airflow without being forced to put in straight lines to keep costs down," says Keane.

So Keane's team set out to see how quickly they could design a 1.5-metre-wingspan, super-low-drag UAV, print it and get it airborne. A UK-based 3D-printing firm, 3T RPD of Greenham Common, Berkshire, joined the venture, agreeing to print the UAV out of hard nylon.

"We designed in printable hinges that would let the ailerons move," says 3T RPD spokesman Stuart Offer. "And we decided where to split the fuselage so the nose could be snap-jointed to the fuselage easily."

It'll be a while though before you can go on holiday on a printed airplane.