IanH1960
12-04-2014, 07:46 AM
I've been mulling over a design for a simple generic GA simpit for my own use and have finally settled on one and started making bits.... It's loosely based on the single engine Pipestrel Panthera with X-Plane probably.
I've been really impressed at what can be done with a 3D printer (after a bit of trial and error) so I thought I'd share some of the early results.
Work has begun on the parts for the engine controls (standard single engine prop) - here are some pictures...
The lever arms are long because the mechanism sits a fair below the center pedestal trim level to give a fairly linear back/forward sliding movement for the three controls. All the plastic bits are 3D printed including the throttle, prop and mixture knobs. I was surprised at how well the gear segments and the small 1 module pot gears came out.
You can also see the center pedestal trim - also 3D printed, although these take a few hours each. 3D printing is pretty slow, but it works away without much attention most of the time.
For interest I'm using a Felix 3.0 printer - and have spent a fair bit of time getting to know it. The geometry of the parts needs to be designed to suit the printing process but that seems to be quite do-able... Quite pleased with the results overall!
Ian
I've been really impressed at what can be done with a 3D printer (after a bit of trial and error) so I thought I'd share some of the early results.
Work has begun on the parts for the engine controls (standard single engine prop) - here are some pictures...
The lever arms are long because the mechanism sits a fair below the center pedestal trim level to give a fairly linear back/forward sliding movement for the three controls. All the plastic bits are 3D printed including the throttle, prop and mixture knobs. I was surprised at how well the gear segments and the small 1 module pot gears came out.
You can also see the center pedestal trim - also 3D printed, although these take a few hours each. 3D printing is pretty slow, but it works away without much attention most of the time.
For interest I'm using a Felix 3.0 printer - and have spent a fair bit of time getting to know it. The geometry of the parts needs to be designed to suit the printing process but that seems to be quite do-able... Quite pleased with the results overall!
Ian