Tiny 3-D-Printed Insect Robots Take Flight | Wired Science | Wired.com
The era of printed manufacturing creeps closer and closer. At the other end of the scale is 3d printed buildings, where the printer is a cad drives a dispenser that crawls along the foundation and then on up the walls. Maybe this is the next trillion dollar industry as this link claims.
On a scale a little smaller and simpler than flying devices, top quality custom jewelry is now made with cad driven machines that 3d print the “wax” jewelry model, which is cast into gold or platinum just in time for the wedding. Insects, buildings, jewelry… What’s next parts for our appliances or cars? Maybe car frames and bodies for light electric cars?
Tiny 3-D-Printed Insect Robots Take Flight
By Wired UK Email Author
By Olivia Solon, Wired UK
A team of roboticists at Cornell University have created tiny flying robotic insects using 3-D printing.
The flapping wings of the hovering robotic insects (known as ornithopters) are very thin, lightweight and yet strong. Traditionally, the manufacturing process for these wings is time-consuming and a case of trial and error. However, advances in rapid prototyping have greatly expanded the possibilities for wing design, allowing wing shapes to replicate those of real insects or virtually any other shape. Furthermore, this can be done in minutes.