I have been messing around with these lightweight materials for quite some time but haven't really stepped over into the flying surface zone. Primarily due to the low Ice temperatures of the available available filaments. Now ASA Aero has an ice temperature up near 90C, high enough to survive being left in a car and past what we would expect sitting in the sun. This surface is flying stabilizer for model I've been testing. The model has created some new experiences for me and a couple of new maneuvers which are repeatable on demand. But not something for the faint. hearted. The real aspect of this photo is that this print is a single line from the very first entry into the part until it is finished. It's one continuous fiber for he entire length from root to tip. It took me a lot of time to figure out how to do. And then how to do it and have a strong enough structure. Then how to make a strong structure and not have a marked up skin. And the how to make it lighter. 

More to come.

This is an intercostal for a basic CL aircraft. It's purpose is to connect the wing, bellcrank, landing gear and motor mount together and transfer loads to where they need to go.

Groovy. What's the best source for this stuff?

Quote from: Howard Rush on August 01, 2026, 03:05:34 PMGroovy. What's the best source for this stuff?

I pretty much just get what I'm using via Bambu Labs. Not because it's necessarily the best or cheapest but because it integrates well. The spools have an RFID on them the printer can read when they are put in the AMS. That eliminates a bunch of setting stuff up and I am fundamentally lazy. I use some alternate supplier materials at times and use and RFID from and old spool. The printer recognizes what is installed and the slicer can be synced to the machine via LAN. Then all of the correct settings or very close are right at hand. Way far away from what I used to have to do "back in the day". When I got my first BL X1C I was pissed at it. That machine took all of the hours I spent fussing with filament setting, bed adhesion and everything else and made it serious simple. The first time around I think it was days before I made a good part. With the X1C it was right out of the box up and running 30 minutes or so..

The ASA Aero is seriously cantankerous until you get the combinations all correct. It really doesn't like retraction / detraction cycles and will leave blobs and strings everywhere. If it doesn't do that it will leave gaps and gobs on your part. From what I see the LW PLA is fairly easy to work with comparatively but it still has the PLA ice temp down in the 50C zone which won't stand up here in the summer. The LW PLA HT is supposed to have an ice temp up in the high 70C - 80C zone which makes it practical for use. It also comes with the higher melt temperature around 250C - 270C zone. I have some of that and will tinker with it after I get this project I'm working on finished.

The ASA Aero needs to be in an enclosed chamber preferably heated because of the melt temperature. I haven't tried it in the X1C which is only enclosed. The H2D maintains the chamber temp and I can control the cool down. That is necessary for thin single wall parts as they tend to warp. The honeycomb part in my photo is a bit heavy even by 3D print standards but is very stable in all structural aspects. I have another wing method that is lighter and just as good exterior wise but it requires rib installation post print. That method is likely the one I'll go with on larger projects. The X form that is popular is light but not very sturdy and has a poor surface. However it is an easier design to make on some levels. In the same hand my methods are still infants and they could end up being just as easy.

The intercostal part is made using ASA CF. It is sturdy enough and will be glued inside of a shell which will stabilize the non grounded parts you see. My jury is still out on the ASA for parts. It's ICE temp is highest of them all but it lacks some stiffness falling near nylon. It glues extremely well. On the in progress project, I'll probably use PC for the motor mount because I know how it handles heat and it glues well enough. I originally was going to use PC for the intercostal but decided that since I am on this ASA road I would work it to see how I like it. So far I like it well enough.

Here's  better perspective of what the intercostal is going to do. These wing sections are actually the outboard halves. This is just for the because I haven't done it yet reason and I wanted to see how it looks.

Wow Mark. You are pretty advanced at this 3D printing stuff. And I thought PETG was the cat's meow. Lol.

How much does the fuselage part weigh?

I was thinking about skinning some PLA lite for a fuselage and Foam wing. It's just a pipe dream.

I know better than to put it on a scale. I simply don't want to know the answer. What I can say is these put a new level on the term sled. I'm doing it because it entertains me and it's a challenge

PTEG is the cats meow, no question. It is easy to work with, doesn't care if you have an enclosure or not, has a reasonably high Ice temperature that can withstand summertime enclosed car temperatures, is strong enough to make usable parts, looks nice, what more could you say good about it. These are all of the reasons I still have some of the first spool of PLA. About the only thing PLA is good to me for is making example parts cheaply, but then PETG isn't really that much more expensive. The time it take to swap out the spool just doesn't make lots of sense. PETG CF is a great material for parts. I make bellcranks and all kinds of useful stuff with it. For most of the parts we need here PETG suffices. The only caveat is that electric motors can get hot enough to cause it to sag if they are overloaded or not cooled well enough. PC is better in that regard in both plain and CF varieties. ASA is probably good as well but I think PC wins in the stiffness arena.

When I get past the detailed design stage I will be testing the LW PLA HT to see how it works. People are having success on open frame machines but they likely live in places where the heat is less concern or are not as abusive of stuff as I am.

After the distraction of the rudder kicker I have gotten back around to this airplane project. I printed out the full wing mainly because I should. One of the wing panels tore a little when I was removing it from the plate. This ASA Aero stuff can really stick to the plate hard and I got a bit in a rush to remove it. The primary trick to removing is to wait until the part has completely cooled. This foaming filament goes one step deeper into the sticking too well zone. Generally the trick is to put the entire plate and part in the freezer and let it cool for 10 ish minutes. That will generally unstick most parts from the plate. I am using liquid glue on the textured PEI plate and I use it thickly. Then, after cooling the parts will normally fall right off but this time it mostly did except for the last little bit.. I pulled it stayed. A small chip I could ignore but I just sent another one to the printer.

I am working on the landing gear installation and there's so many ways it could be done. I settled on a simple configuration using 3mm x 2mm CF tubing two for each leg. They plug into a block that fits in the channel in the intercostal. I plan on securing the block with a screw for servicing just in case.

I do have an initial fuselage designed but it has a couple irregularities that I intend on fixing. What tends to happen when working on a project of this kind of scope is that there are a number of three steps forward, two ah craps, then back five steps, then forward a bit followed by, oh that won't work I better edit that and soon the whole thing is a mess of patched sketches, errant bodies and lost projections which won't work well when sent to the printer. So, a clean restart is in order but the good news is that you've sorted out the rough spots to look out for.

More to come soon.

Here's an update on the 3D printed airplane progress. This project is taking more time than I figured. However, I think I have a path to the finish line. So, many decisions to make about how the thing will go together and how to pass loads around. I decide the front of the airplane will remain a single surface volume print. That simplifies a few aspects and keeps the models easy to print. This require creating some bulkheads and I started with the front integrated motor mount. This will tie the motor with the intercostal and the cowl. The cowl will bee held on with more screws than I would like but that is how I am going to push this one to the finish line so I can move on to the next one. The next project I have in mind will include flaps and is going to be another classic model.

More on the way