3DLabPrint: MiG-15 Build Log

[Dirty Dee]

Started printing this MiG-15 a few days ago, and aiming to have it ready for Jet Jam in June. I'll be doing the Red Bull scheme for this jet.

50hrs and 18min worth of printing finished, and about another 10hrs left to finish off the last fuselage bits. I should be able to finish the fuselage just before the first 1kg spool runs out.

[RCjetdude]

I have got to get a 3D printer....

[OV10]

I have got to get a 3D printer....

I KNOOOWWWWWWW..................................I see this as the way of the future where you buy the airframe build program and go to town.
Bang one up and what ever piece got jimmied you just bang another piece/plane out.;)

[T-CAT]

Soooooooooooo awesome! Hahaha. What printing material was used?

I’ve been wanting to get into 3D printing for a while and haven’t yet to let the tech. get to a more advanced level. I’d still love to get one though and have been thinking of purchasing that MK3 from Prusa. Hmmm.....

[Dirty Dee]

Bang one up and what ever piece got jimmied you just bang another piece/plane out.;)

That's actually what some guys have done, haha.

Soooooooooooo awesome! Hahaha. What printing material was used?

I’ve been wanting to get into 3D printing for a while and haven’t yet to let the tech. get to a more advanced level. I’d still love to get one though and have been thinking of purchasing that MK3 from Prusa. Hmmm.....

I am using Hatchbox PLA. PTEG has better temperature resistance, but apparently is a bit less rigid, so the airframes feel more squishy/flexy.

I'm sure if you got the MK3 it would be fairly future-proof, as you can get upgrade kits. I have the MK2S, and based on the quality of the prints I doubt I will be needing to swap out for another printer for a while.


More progress. Finished printing the rest of the fuselage and tail pieces, and logged in 79hrs 24mins so far. Basically extinguished the first spool, so I'll be swapping over to a new roll to print the wings. I might be able to use the last of this first roll on some small parts like ailerons.

[T-CAT]

Excellent, thanks for the info. I wasn’t sure about the strength needed for the airframe and whether PLA was strong enough or resistant enough to weather. If it can, then it seems like a win-win because PLA is supposedly easy to print with in comparison to ABS and some other materials.

[RCjetdude]

Excellent progress DD. Looking forward to more updates. Will it have retracts?

[Dirty Dee]

Excellent, thanks for the info. I wasn’t sure about the strength needed for the airframe and whether PLA was strong enough or resistant enough to weather. If it can, then it seems like a win-win because PLA is supposedly easy to print with in comparison to ABS and some other materials.

So PLA will soften warp if left in the direct sunlight based on what others have posted, and should definitely not be left in a car on hot days either. It is one of the easiest materials to print, which is why it is one of the better options for this thinwall printing. ABS would probably be better, but is more challenging to print. I saw someone posting on RCGroups that he was doing a MiG in ABS, but haven't seen further progress besides his first post.

Excellent progress DD. Looking forward to more updates. Will it have retracts?

Thanks. Yes, this will have retracts, and they have files included to 3D print rubber tires and wheel hubs. Not sure yet on which powerplant I will be using, but I have a 90mm Changesun fan in my spares drawer that might work.

[RCjetdude]

Is it able to be scaled up? I have a Change Sun 105mm 8S fan needing a home eventually.

[Dirty Dee]

Yea, they provide the STL files so you can tweak whatever aspect you want. You can load it into the slicer program and do a simple re-scale, but you might have to do some after-the-act modifications for the retracts to fit. Otherwise you could modify the STL files directly to rescale them and make the landing gear corrections prior to loading it into the slicer program.

[Prowler901]

Lookin' great, Dirty Dee! :Cool: I''m building their "Dusty" at the moment. Those guys at 3DLabPrint are clever fellows.

[Dirty Dee]

Thanks! Good luck with your Dusty.

Their design approach is definitely clever. 2 guys over on RCGroups were able to replicate the design workflow and they seem to be making progress on their personal designs. I am wanting to try it out myself but go a bit simpler with the structural design. ASA is apparently similar to ABS but ~20% lighter, so I will be picking up a spool of that to test out.

My next scratchbuild plane will be a 1/30 scale A330-300 (2 meter wingspan) and I am hoping to incorporate a large amount of 3d printing with that design. At the very least, I'll be printing plugs for fiberglass molds to cut down on man-hours and push it onto print hours to make the plugs and leave me with just finishing the surface.

[Hardway]

:Cool:

[Prowler901]

Thanks! Good luck with your Dusty.

Their design approach is definitely clever. 2 guys over on RCGroups were able to replicate the design workflow and they seem to be making progress on their personal designs. I am wanting to try it out myself but go a bit simpler with the structural design. ASA is apparently similar to ABS but ~20% lighter, so I will be picking up a spool of that to test out.

My next scratchbuild plane will be a 1/30 scale A330-300 (2 meter wingspan) and I am hoping to incorporate a large amount of 3d printing with that design. At the very least, I'll be printing plugs for fiberglass molds to cut down on man-hours and push it onto print hours to make the plugs and leave me with just finishing the surface.

ASA - I'll have to look that one up. I've not read about it yet.

The A330 project sounds fascinating.

[Dirty Dee]

Some progress. 3DLabPrint recommends Medium CA for gluing the parts together. However from assembling their BF-109 and small spitfire models, I am not a fan of this gluing method. Ive had trouble consistently getting a good glue joint and keeping the seam clean from any hazing. What I found is BSI Foam Cure works very well and can be applied with less of a rush vs CA.

What I found was after gluing and attaching the pieces with Foam Cure, you have to use your finger and do one continuous swipe to remove the glue, as it will get clumpy and rough if you tried to do multiple passes or rub away. Afterwards, rubbing with a lint-free cloth wetted with oil helped remove any excess glue and made the joint look cleaner ( I have Rem Oil on hand and used that).

Since I have a pair of Changesun 90mm fan/motor combos lying around, I will go with that for my powerplant.

[RCjetdude]

Love it. This is so amazing!

[Prowler901]

That's some beautiful printing! :Cool:

[Dirty Dee]

Thanks guys.

Finally finished the rest of the printing and just have the horizontal stabs to glue in place. A total of about 117 hours and 51 minutes to print the whole airframe and some minor accessories. I still need to print the wheel hubs and tires, but I'll get to that after I finish most of the electronics installation.

Total, the plane weights 1560g empty.

[Prowler901]

Beauty! :Cool:

[RRHandy]

:Cool:.