A group of engineers has achieved 3D printing on the fly: they mounted a printer on a radio-controlled plane and printed a second model right in the air

To lift the 38-kilogram printer (plus batteries), the radio-controlled aircraft was about half the size of a two-seat Piper Cub. The aircraft had a 16-foot wingspan (4.9 m) and was made of wood, foam, carbon fiber rods, and a few 3D-printed parts. The Centauri Carbon had wheels and connectors printed on it before being attached to the board, writes Tom's Hardware.

In mid-air, the Elegoo 3D printed a miniature glider pre-loaded from Thingiverse. To lighten the load, the spool holder was removed and the machine was loaded with just the right amount of PLA needed to print the model. The built-in camera recorded the entire process.

Powering the printer in the air was another challenge. The Centauri Carbon used a 2000W inverter connected to four 3-cell 3300mAh batteries. Meanwhile, the aircraft itself was powered by four 10,000mAh 6S batteries, providing enough power for both flight and printing.

The flight lasted only 55 seconds, but the printer reached an altitude of 100 feet (30.5 m) and circled the field before crashing into several trees. The trees actually cushioned the impromptu landing, allowing the Centauri Carbon to not only survive but continue printing. The team said the printer's die-cast aluminum frame was the reason it handled the impact so well.

“The durability of the Centauri Carbon is incredible!” said Stefan Ostergren, one of the team members. “We crashed the printer at 30 mph and it handled it perfectly! It continued to print even after the crash and after inspection, the only thing on the printer was a little dirt and a few scratches!”

An Elegoo representative told Tom's Hardware that the Centauri Carbon was sent to the Flite Test team with the idea of ​​using it to print durable parts for radio-controlled aircraft. They were surprised to hear that the printer would fly.