At about 230C the filament will start to foam resulting in a 3 x volume increase in the material. If the material flow rate is decreased by 60% it will result in lighter weight parts with a lower density than conventional PLA. Lightweight printing can be done by using the settings determined in the paragraph above. Keep in mind that if the flow is decreased to low values the hot-end might clog due to the filament expanding before exiting the nozzle. Not that any of wing constructions like to crash in such a fashion, RC aircraft that survive such things tend to do so not because of how the wing was made but that they are too slow flying and light there isn’t enough inertia to do anything but bounce…

Note that some brands develop high temperatures when mixed together, which may have an effect on your 3D printer glue and the PLA you are using Heat can, however, be managed by using a product that has a slower curing process. Something you should also take into account before you buy your glue, is whether or not you need to sand your surfaces before gluing them together. For some glues, having a bit of friction helps with adhesion, but this does not apply to all glue types. This is important to know when choosing the best glue for PLA. On the left we printed the same gcode using regular PLA, on the right our colorFabb LW-PLA showing the expanding properties enabling 0.6mm layerheight from a 0.4mm nozzle. TemperatureYellowing of printed parts after high temperature foaming is a normal phenomenon. Lowering the printing temperature can relieve it. This isn’t something totally new and quite common in normal industry for making a variety of foam parts. Some agents are even called “yoga mat” chemicals for being the foaming compounds used in the making of these soft pads. I haven’t seen much of this technique being used in 3D printing but I know that there is at least one other 3D printing filament that has been using a similar method for a while. Polymakers Polywood doesn’t contain real wood like other wood filaments but also uses foaming to get a similar texture without the danger of clogging or destroying the nozzle. Colorfabb are now marketing comparable products for the use in mechanical applications rather than only esthetic ones.

Pure PLA cannot be melted by acetone, but acetone does work as a solvent for PLA that is used for 3D printing. This is because other chemicals are added to the plastics that are used for printing, and these are what are affected by the acetone.The filament is produced from premium ingredients, with tight tolerances on our automated production line and comes in a resealable bag for convenient use. Spools are made from recycled plastic waste. There is a variety of glues that will work; which one you choose will depend on your needs and preferences. Your options include hot glue, superglue, 3D printing pens, acetone, and plumber’s cement. Each type of glue has different application processes, drying times, and other qualities that could affect the appearance of your 3D design and your experience working with the glue and plastic.

You need to heavily modify your printing settings depending on the temperature and setup to compensate the foaming expansion of the material when printing. I don’t think it’s necessary to have the slicer do the FEA. That is the job of the design program you are using. Using PLA LW filament is easy! All you need is a 3D printer that supports 1.75mm filament and you're ready to go! Make sure you set the correct temperature on your printer before starting your project - this will vary depending on the type of printer you have but should be around 185-210°C (365-410°F). Once everything is set up correctly, simply load the filament into the printer and start printing! Wings are always going to a bitch to repair if you break them, this method to me seems like the easiest though, as its just let the printer do its thing and exchange the broken part for the new…

The most popular printing material in the field of FDM 3D printing

Note that the first layer speed setting is consistent with the actual printing speed, set to 100% of the actual printing speed, turn off the first layer and small area printing speed reduction function, the first layer extrusion rate is consistent with the actual foaming extrusion rate, such as 270 degrees set to 45% of the first layer extrusion rate; if the bed adhesion is too strong, you can set the bottom valve when printing. Despite these significant advantages, there are elements that are cause for concern, if you do not take the necessary precautions when using acetone. It should only be used in ventilated areas, failing to heed this advice could result in dizziness. It is also highly flammable, so should not be used in near heat or open flames. There is also the danger of using too much acetone and burning through your filament. LW-PLA je první filament svého druhu, které využívá technologii aktivní pěny k vytváření lehkých PLA součástí s nízkou hustotou. Při teplotě kolem 230 °C začne materiál pěnit a zvětší svůj objem téměř třikrát. Today, there are many manufacturers of PLA, such as WeForYou, Evoknik, NaturaWorks and Corbion. Although many people enjoy using ABS plastic for 3D printing, PLA has a number of superior qualities that make it the most commonly used plastic in 3D printing.

Added bonus is when you inevitably crash it you have the mold on hand to crank out another wing/nose/tail out of the cheap expanding foam. Yes PLA is brittle – but most important to a wing its really damn stiff so holds the aerofoil profile really well – and its not really taking any significant portion of the load itself, as the full length spar is doing that, all the PLA has to do is take its own weight and the aeroloadings of its own cross section around the spar – so this construction is stronger in the ways that most matter for an aircraft – stiff to hold the wing shape, big ol’ CF tube to transfer the load to the fuselage and prevent the wings folding… Just don’t fly it into the big ol’ immovable object at high speed, as soon as you put much load where it doesn’t belong its going to shatter. As you can see, plastic in all of its shapes and forms has a lot going for it, if you are looking for a durable material that has a wide variety of uses and that can be produced relatively cheaply. And, while most plastics take longer than our lifetimes to decompose, causing worlds of problems for the environment, the problem of pollution is solved by plastics like Polylactic Acid (PLA) plastics. Following the success of our in-house produced PolyAir 1.0 focused on improving the toughness of single-wall printed RC models, we’re presenting the PolyLight 1.0– The active foaming lightweight LW-PLA material. Depending on hotend temperature, the material increases its volume more than twice during extrusion resulting in very lightweight parts. Suitable especially for smaller models and parts where strength is not so critical. These steps might seem simple, but it took about 3 weeks of experimentation to find a process that works. It’s primarily intended for straight wings with a continuous profile, but it should be adaptable to tapered/swept wings too. A well-designed airframe is essential when pushing aircraft to the edge of efficiency, like solar-powered plane to fly overnight.Control extruded volume of material by regulating printing temperature. At around 230C LW-PLA starts foaming and can increase its volume by nearly 3 times.