3D printing specialist 1 to 1: Lightweight components with FDR technology for Festo project

Every gram counts Ultra-light support frames using FDR technology for Festo flying apparatus

2024-12-16 Source: 1to1 | Translated by AI 1 min Reading Time

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The 3D printing specialist 1 to 1 has chosen the Fine Detail Resolution (FDR) process for manufacturing lightweight components for the Festo project.

This robotic, artificial insect is intended to provide insights into new automation approaches for Festo. It is very light. Its support structures were manufactured by 1to1 using a special process of additive manufacturing from plastic. Learn more about it here ...(Image: Festo) — This robotic, artificial insect is intended to provide insights into new automation approaches for Festo. It is very light. Its support structures were manufactured by 1to1 using a special process of additive manufacturing from plastic. Learn more about it here ...
(Image: Festo)

The company produces practical plastic parts with delicate structures and strong mechanical properties using high-resolution laser sintering technology FDR, it states. The combination of geometric freedom and tool-free production in a lightweight style, stability, and flexibility is economically advantageous, especially for millimeter-sized components in small series. Further advantages are brought by customization. FDR is considered ideal for electronic connectors, filters, screens, and complex geometries in manageable quantities, as well as for personalized products in medical technology. However, 1zu1 is now also applying the innovative process to larger components. For Festo's so-called Bionicbee, the company manufactured an ultralight frame 8 inches long, and 3.5 inches high and wide.

Polyamide 11 makes it possible when additively processed

With the Bionicbee, Festo replicates the swarm behavior of bees and aims to draw conclusions for automation technology within the framework of the "Bionic-Learning" project, as the company notes. The artificial bee weighs only 1.2 ounces in total due to its lightweight construction, generative design, and use of 3D printing. Just three grams of that is accounted for by the support frame manufactured by 1zu1 with FDR—the weight of a sugar cube. After all, every gram less matters for flying objects, which need to carry less weight. With the material polyamide 11 (PA1101), thinner and more resilient structures are possible than with other plastics. The approximately 0.035-inches thin struts ultimately provide the ultralight support structure. The results are visually equivalent to the particularly detailed stereolithography but are many times more robust. The feather-light and flexible parts easily withstand takeoff and landing, as Festo notes.

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