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Annealing Single Layer 3D Prints to Create Propeller Blades

I've been writing a lot about things that fly lately and it's led me to join a local indoor model flying club which meets in a gym and fly all manner of free flight as well as RC planes/ blimps/ helicopters and more.

It's a fun scene. I've really enjoyed the challenges of building small rubber band-powered planes and then the huge challenge of trimming them to fly well! One of my favourites so far is a super lightweight design called a "Midair Mossie". I'd built it and flown it at a few events and had it dialled in pretty well, until, it collided with a pesky RC helicopter! I do also love a repair mission so this led me to try an interesting technique to replace the propeller blades. I'd seen that modellers sometimes cast the curves and pitch into propeller blades by soaking a flat balsawood blade in water for hours and then strapping it to a form, like a jar or a can or other cylinder to allow it to slowly dry into shape. Armed with the knowledge of roughlyl what temperature it took to anneal PETG 3D prints I made new prop blades using my 3D printer, kapton tape, a glass jar and my kitchen oven!

Check out the video if you're interested... if only to see slow-motion footage of the helicopter crash!

General tinkerer! Freelancing writing about making things, rocketry, boats, electronics and a mahoosive pile of unfinished and unstarted! Author of "FreeCAD for Makers" book on Raspberry Pi Press and writes for Hackspace Magazine, Tindie, Kids Code Computer Science, Toms Hardware and more!
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