Continuing to work out details of the budget/costs for the H-1 Racer project. I’m estimating the volume of plastic required to print a single set of molds. Rough estimates for 2 wings and fuselage, assuming 10% infill is total of 220kg, or 4450$ of PLA @ 20$/kg. The cost of the molds so far is much more than previously estimated or the cost of the radio, batteries, motor and other electronics combined.
Wow. This estimate is for full rectangular blocks (10% filled) with the mold cavity on one side? If so, I’m thinking you could reduce the cost significantly by modeling a support scaffold somewhat like Slic3r’s pillar supports.
Pla++ filament from Breathe 3DP should arrive next week! And I’ll get serious with the molds. Also trading a Filabot for a Printrbot Big-E to ease cost. I got sidetracked and haven’t started the pellet extruder design. Carl Ubis did whip up a 24V dual core Ubis 13S derivative though… I’m testing it. I also started to play around with a heated bed… That’s a tricky one.
Since the cost of printing molds is so high why not do them in fiberglass? I’m a composites expert. I can either give you assistance if you’ve never done it before or even do it for you. Check of my website if you haven’t already to see my work http://www.btifab.com
calculating the cost based on solid printed molds is ridiculous!
You could print a mold in spiral vase mode (wing and fuselage vertical) and use less material, print faster, etc. Just need a tall delta? @ThantiK I’d keep it as just a thick shell surface offset of your desired part, with lots of sanding and acetoning of mold surface - no reason it needs to be a box with half your part subtracted.
My estimates aren’t ridiculous, they are perfectly normal estimates for this stage of the project. Molds arent solid they assume 10% infill. The point is, cost grows to the cube of scale. Being large scale, costs are great.
Consider joining the project and testing your new ideas with us.
@Andre_Roy well let me know if you need help or advice. I use my printers to make plugs all the time. I like this Google group, the people seem very nice and helpful and so I’m happy to contribute or help out in any way that I can.
+André Roy yeah. That’s the whole reason why I got into 3-D printing. Instead of sanding and making a plug by hand I just design it in CAD, and print it out. It is much more accurate and a lot less work–not to mention a lot less dust. You still have to primer it then sand it smooth to get rid of the layers of FTM printing leaves, but it’s a much quicker and better way to take a product from idea to actual composite part.
@Andre_Roy if you’re making a fiberglass mold then no. You can use Isophthalic Polyester resin and a gelcoat and lay it on by hand. If you plan on making the final part in carbon fiber, then you need a vacuum system at the very least to have good results, if you are using epoxy resin, which would be the best resin for a strong and durable part.
The parts fit well in the dimensions I have in my post at the top. It’ll be simple, conservative but ballpark. 1 fuselage and 2 wings. I’d be curious about what the assumptions for the estimate are :).
to ease cost. I got sidetracked and haven’t started the pellet extruder design. Carl Ubis did whip up a 24V dual core Ubis 13S derivative though… I’m testing it. I also started to play around with a heated bed… That’s a tricky one.