Tsung Xu, an engineer, has designed and manufactured a 3D-printed winged VTOL drone capable of flying for 130 continuous miles (approximately 3 hours) and posted an article and YouTube video (embedded below) detailing his efforts.
According to Xu, everything accomplished in this project was done without any prior knowledge of aerodynamic modeling, 3D printing, or CAD, and the process took 90 days. He outlined the project's progression in a log here.
Everything you see in this drone was designed and put together by Xu from scratch. Many of the components had to be modeled before they could be printed, as this design wasn't based on an existing plane. Xu confirms in the project details that the drone was printed using a Bambu Lab A1 printer, a device we gave 4.5 out of 5 stars to when reviewing.
It should go without saying that certain components, like the radio and motors, were sourced separately. When testing the setup, Xu stated that he was able to achieve a maximum flight time of approximately 3 hours, which translates to roughly 130 miles of flying time. This was made possible thanks to the integration of what Xu describes as a high energy density battery. No doubt the model design plays a factor in this performance, though, as well.
Unfortunately, we don't get an in-depth look at the build process. However, Xu assures us that the building of this winged VTOL drone was only made possible thanks to a handful of unique challenges. This ranged from things like taking the time to understand aerodynamic design to sourcing electrical components.
Earlier this week, we reported that the US Army is planning to implement more 3D printing and drone support in its tactical strategies, so it's neat to see the impact of the two fields (3D printing and FPV drones) on both an industrial scale and on an individual basis.
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