3D printing as a tool for prototyping for
Aerospace Engineering Applications
Prof. Alison Flatau
Clark School of Engineering

Cyclocopter
Tail rotor mount
Main fuselage frame
Landing gear
550 grams
Blade attachment for pitching mechanism
A.G. Rotorcraft Center, slides provided by Elena Shrestha
60 grams
Blade mold

Optimized Quadrotor
3-D printed hubs for various carbon fiber rotor designs used on vehicle
3-D printed gear box
44 grams
Endurance: 30 mins
A.G. Rotorcraft Center, slides provided by Elena Shrestha

Optimized Quadrotor
Conducted parametric studies using hundreds of 3-D printed rotors
A.G. Rotorcraft Center, slides provided by Elena Shrestha

Quadrotor Biplane
Landing gear
Fuselage canopy
Rotor mount
250 grams
Capable of rotorcraft and fixed-wing mode
HIGH-SPEED
FORWARD FLIGHT
STABLE
HOVER

Flapping Wing MAV
Fuselage frame and gear box
65 gram (two wings)
Hover capable flapper
Insect-based mechanism
Landing gear joint
A.G. Rotorcraft Center, slides provided by Elena Shrestha

Flow sensor design
Base
Adjustable holder to determine optimal configuration
Slider Clamp
1 st Generation 4 th Generation
Aerosmart Flow Sensor Research, slides provided by Ganesh Raghunath

Modified designs
3 HE sensor holder
2 HE sensor holder
Base of 2 piece holder Top of 2 piece holder
Aerosmart Flow Sensor Research, slides provided by Ganesh Raghunath

1 st Generation
Low speed flow sensor holder
2 nd Generation
3 rd Generation
Aerosmart Flow Sensor Research, slides provided by Ganesh Raghunath

Wind Tunnel Set-Up
508mm
U ͚
U ͚
Jones Aerodynamics Lab, slides provided by Vera Klimchenko

3D Printing a Mold
• 12 parts made in about 8 hours
• They can all be printed at the same time
Collective Dynamics and Control Laboratory, slides by Frank Lagor

3D Printing a Mold
Collective Dynamics and Control Laboratory, slides by Frank Lagor

Prof. Alison Flatau
Clark School of Engineering

Glaucoma and asymmetric visual field damage
Hypothesis is that if you have glaucoma, sleep position can contribute to damage
Central
Threshold
Vision Test
(99%)
Central
Threshold
Vision Test
(84%)

Preliminary findings indicate eyes of glaucoma patients respond to sleep-position induced loads differently than healthy controls

A protective sleep mask that provides an alternative load path to prevent eye deformation &/or avoid a change in outflow resistance during non-supine sleep positions.
Disclaimer: International Application no. PCT/US11/54595

BioE Capstone Design team developing custom-fit 3-D designs
Working with Direct Dimensions to understand use of 3-D scanning to identify critical facial dimensions for proper fit

BioE Capstone Design team developing custom-fit 3-D designs
Scanned 3-D image from Direct Dimensions was used to extrude a mask interface as an *.stl file for printing. UMD
Startup Shell produced a 3-D custom fit prototype using PLA that is a perfect match to contours of the face
(Thank you Maggie Prendergast, TJ Root and Tony Ingelido!)

BioE Capstone Design team developing custom-fit 3-D designs
• Establishing material requirements
• Establishing fit requirements
• Establishing manufacturing options
 Custom 3-D printed liners used with standard size
S/M/L plastic shells
 Custom 3-D printed plastic shell used with standard size S/M/L liners
 Both shell and liner need to be custom fit