Razor: UVA’s 3D printed drone with android autopilot

At the University of Virginia, engineers are printing airplanes.

Three-dimensional printing is the production, or “printing,” of actual objects, such as toys or parts for devices, by using a machine that traces out layers of melted plastic in specific shapes until it builds a piece to the exact specifications of a computer-aided drawing produced by a designer.

With the increased availability of user-friendly computer programs and 3D printers, that designer can be anybody. Eventually, almost any object, or parts for objects, may become 3D printable – even including body implants – in a range of materials, including metals.

U.Va. engineers and engineering students are using sophisticated 3-D printing technology to make an array of objects, including a plastic airplane for a Department of the Army project.

Read the complete interview here

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