Polish inventor Tomasz Patan has created an Airbike.Reminiscent of the Star Wars Speeder bikes, the vehicle uses 3D printing to fly one person around.It looks rather terrifying, frankly, but the Volonaut Airbike may yet prove to be an invention that could see wider adoption.
Exploring rapid composite prototyping with 3D printing and resin infusion.Image courtesy of Volonaut via Instagram.To make the Airbike, Tomasz used desktop 3D printed parts.
Using a Prusa clone, he’s printed short carbon fiber-reinforced parts.He then drenched these parts with resin in a vacuum bag.This kind of DIY CFRP process has been used in model aircraft and drone communities before.
I’ve always been curious about the properties you can get from using CF filament and resin infusion.We know now that a lot of the CF filaments are really not very strong, but perhaps with resin infusion, people can make airworthy parts at home now? I’m not sure, but it definitely is an interesting process.For drones and RC aircraft, this could be a much bigger process and give a lot of people a production process with quite a basic setup.
Tomasz Patan explores rapid composites prototyping with 3D printing.Image courtesy of Volonaut via Instagram.I’d be curious to see if this kind of an approach catches on with the drone crowd.
It could lead to stronger parts that could be made very quickly in austere environments.If this were able to bridge a performance gap, it may mean that instead of using a high-temperature 3D printer, which can be expensive, and costly materials such as Ultem, you could use a far less costly PA CF and then infuse it to get a weaker but cheaper part.I can’t be sure here, but I’m guessing that Tomasz is also combining the parts with hand layup at home, along with sheet materials.
Doing this kind of thing is very tricky, and a lot of the resins and fibers are very nasty materials.If you do want to attempt this, please read through the relevant safety guides.I know people who have had some nasty lingering health effects from working with these fibers and resins.
Protective equipment and good ventilation are a must for doing something like this at home.With that proviso, though, combining desktop 3D printers with resin infusion and some form of fiber matting seems like it should get wider consideration.Tomasz said the bike has a jet engine and can reach 200 KPH.
Without any kind of lift from a wing, this thing will fall like a stone if the engine cuts out.Aircraft can be brought to a safe landing, not always, but sometimes, if the engines cut out.Even helicopters, currently among the most dangerous flying things, benefit from an auto-rotation effect whereby if the engine cuts out, the propeller could rotate enough to give the craft some hard but survivable landing.
Here, this won’t be the case.The craft also doesn’t have a tail boom and appears to be single-engined.Tomasz shares the journey with his partner Anna, saying, “Feels incredible to have a supportive and caring life partner sharing another extraordinary journey.
Thank you, Anna, for believing all is possible and helping make dreams come true.” Get a Piece of(or) the Rock! As you can see above, Tomasz has tested the bike on a tether previously, but now we can see how he zooms around in it.On May 4th, known globally as Star Wars Day, Tomasz rode the Airbike in full stormtrooper gear through a forest, channeling the Endor speeder bike chase.What he seems to have done is to use a Honda CB 750 fuel tank along with an engine.
I’m thinking that the bike engine wouldn’t work and that maybe he’s using something like a Honda i-CTDi turbocharger along with the fuel tank from the bike.There’s also a guy on YouTube who has a series of videos, now over a decade old, showing you how to make jet engines from scratch.Another option would be to buy a gas turbine from a company such as AMT.
These micro turbine units were initially meant for RC aircraft but are now finding wider usage.A different choice would be to use a Williams F107 or similar engine.These engines are used for cruise missiles, so not easy to obtain.
There also seem to be jet engines for sale on Alibaba.Most of these, as well as many of the micro turbine ones, seem to be underpowered.An alternative would be a Kh 55 TVD-50 engine, which was made for Russian cruise missiles and has been cloned in China and beyond.
I don’t really understand how the Volonaut can be kept in balance or how it can keep flying.It has to have some kind of gyroscope or something? There only seems to be a small boom sticking out at the front for stability.Or is he keeping it in perfect balance with his body, and is this essentially a jet-powered sky unicycle? I think we can conclude that Tomasz is a very brave and creative person.
Ever since Materialise founder Fried Vancraen told us about the potential of personal aviation and 3D printing, we’ve been watching this space like a hawk.The combination of low volume production, relatively small parts, low weight, low part count, and optimized parts means that 3D printing, personal aviation, and the broader emerging aviation category are a match made in heaven.Will something like the air bike come to fruition and become a popular product? Probably not any time soon.
But, for certain people, personal aviation may be a reality at some point, and if it is, it will be a 3D printed reality.Subscribe to Our Email Newsletter Stay up-to-date on all the latest news from the 3D printing industry and receive information and offers from third party vendors.Print Services Upload your 3D Models and get them printed quickly and efficiently.
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