I have been working on a project for a while now, with a final goal of a flying solar powered airship. I have built a few flying scaled prototypes, the latest of which is about 20 feet long.
The plan is to fit under the FAA ultralight specifications, or if that ends up being impractical, use the homebuilt / experimental regulations.
Anyway, at first I was approaching 3d printing for helping me make parts for prototypes more precisely and easily. But the the wild notion hit me to try to print the entire superstructure from interlocking components, and end up with a pattern others can use and print.
How crazy is this idea? Size of parts doesn't matter, so I don't need high hardness / density. Weight is incredibly important. Are there any materials that might be strong enough? I saw the video about the bike that was printed, but wasn't very strong. But I don't need the high density strength a bike needs.
Feedback / criticism wanted.
Edit: this would be for the gondola / body, not the envelope / gasbag.
The plan is to fit under the FAA ultralight specifications, or if that ends up being impractical, use the homebuilt / experimental regulations.
Anyway, at first I was approaching 3d printing for helping me make parts for prototypes more precisely and easily. But the the wild notion hit me to try to print the entire superstructure from interlocking components, and end up with a pattern others can use and print.
How crazy is this idea? Size of parts doesn't matter, so I don't need high hardness / density. Weight is incredibly important. Are there any materials that might be strong enough? I saw the video about the bike that was printed, but wasn't very strong. But I don't need the high density strength a bike needs.
Feedback / criticism wanted.
Edit: this would be for the gondola / body, not the envelope / gasbag.