To date, drones have become the most popular items among 3D printing enthusiasts. This is not surprising, the huge flying pleasure and the relatively simple production make many fans enjoy it. However, most people's 3D printing drones are often relatively fragile and easily damaged. But designer Roger Freeman has changed our view. For more than a year, he has been developing his own Freebird Flight. This is a state-of-the-art, high-efficiency full 3D printing drone that is weather-proof. It can even be used as a flying snow blower to help users clean up snow or fallen leaves.
Of course, behind Freebird Flight is a story that many makers are familiar with. Although Roger began to be more interested in high-tech products than experience, he tried to squeeze out time to start drumming 3D printing. He started with the Cubex 3D printer and became familiar with the Fusion 360 software. His interest in 3D printing reached its peak after purchasing a basic drone. "Like many new drones, I broke my drone in my yard and broke an arm. I saw a 3D printer when I tried to fix it, I thought I could print one. New parts replacement. And after a few months, I think I might be able to develop a better one - a larger drone that can be used in all applications and can fly in more weather." Roger said when he introduced the source of the 3D printing Freebird drone.
Roger started the project in the summer of 2014. At the beginning he used basic ABS/PLA materials for 3D printing drones. Later, as he purchased a Lulzbot TAZ 4 3D printer that could print more materials, he became obsessed with the carbon fiber 3D printed wire produced by Proto Pasta. “I can print thinner and lighter now, and there is absolutely no warping. After using carbon fiber rods, it took me more than two months to finally complete a design that is closer to the traditional quadrotor drone. He recalled, "Even if carbon fiber is used, I still face the problem that the drone arm will break over time, mainly because it is overweight (up to 25 pounds) and caused by motor vibration."
As his experience increased, he gradually got more ideas about the design of drones. “For example, this is a fuselage with a closed propeller. It not only ensures the safety of the propeller, but also distributes the weight of the entire drone and the torque stress of the motor evenly over the entire fuselage instead of only four points. Increased the strength of the entire fuselage," he explained. Although there are other closed body designs, those do not help to improve efficiency.
In the end, he designed a drone called the Freebird One, which is 3 feet in diameter and looks cool, but still too heavy – about 20 pounds. "The wiring on the plane can't withstand such a large current. On several occasions it even caught fire in the air!" He recalled: "Even so, I found an interesting feature of it that can be used as a snow blower! Very suitable for about four inches of snow, you can clear the snow in the driveway in a few minutes, and I just need to operate in a warm house! And it can also remove the snow on the roof, this is Ordinary snow removal vehicles can't do it."
Later, Roger continued to upgrade Freebird in an effort to make it lighter, more waterproof, and capable of loading other functional devices. Today, after Roger started the project for more than a year and a half, a full 3D printed Freebird One was finally completed. “The parts I bought were only electronics and propellers. But I also successfully printed the propellers in 3D and might replace the 3D printed propellers after it passed the test,†he said.
It is understood that the performance data of the final Freebird One 3D printing drone is quite good, it weighs 8 pounds without battery, can fly continuously for 35 minutes, its maximum horizontal flying speed is 70 miles per hour, the maximum vertical The flight speed is 3000 feet per minute. With a maximum of 9 horsepower from its four brushless motors, it has a maximum load of 20 pounds. It can also fly in most weather conditions, including snow, rain, and wind (maximum speeds of up to 50 mph). It is the most powerful 3D printing drone seen by Tiangong.
Roger's next step is to commercialize it and add more features to it, making Freebird One a practical tool, not a toy.
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