Ultra-light support frames using FDR technology for Festo aircraft

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

2024-12-13 Source: 1zu1 | Translated by AI 1 min Reading Time

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The 3D printing specialist 1zu1 has chosen the Fine Detail Resolution (FDR) process for manufacturing lightweight components for the Festo project.

This robotic, artificial insect is intended to provide Festo with insights into new automation approaches. It is very light. Its support structures were manufactured by 1zu1 using a special process of additive plastic manufacturing. Find out more here ...(Image: Festo) — This robotic, artificial insect is intended to provide Festo with insights into new automation approaches. It is very light. Its support structures were manufactured by 1zu1 using a special process of additive plastic manufacturing. Find out more here ...
(Image: Festo)

1zu1 manufactures practical plastic parts with delicate structures and strong mechanical properties using high-resolution laser sintering technology FDR, it is stated. The combination of geometric freedom and tool-free production in a lightweight style, along with stability and flexibility, is particularly economical 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 ultra-light frame approximately 20 centimeters long and nine centimeters high and wide.

Polyamide 11 makes it possible additively processed

With the BionicBee, Festo mimics the swarm behavior of bees and aims to draw conclusions for automation technology as part of the "Bionic-Learning" project, as 1zu1 notes. The artificial bee weighs only 34 grams overall due to the lightweight construction, generative design, and use of 3D printing. Just three grams of this is accounted for by the support frame manufactured by 1zu1 using FDR—the weight is equivalent to a sugar cube. In flying objects, every gram that doesn't need to be carried counts. With the material polyamide 11 (PA1101), thinner and more resilient structures are possible than with other plastics. Approximately 0.9 millimeter thin struts finally provide the ultra-light support structure. The results are visually equivalent to the particularly detailed stereolithography but are many times more robust. The feather-light and flexible parts withstand takeoff and landing effortlessly, as Festo notes.

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