Model Airplanes

While it took China a little longer to embrace 3D printing technology, once companies across the country started to get on board, nothing could slow them down. Developments have been made in 3D printing with metal and in aerospace 3D printing, and earlier this month, the first large Chinese commercial passenger jet, featuring 3D printed parts, made its maiden test flight from the Shanghai Pudong International Airport. The 168-seat C919 aircraft, manufactured by the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China Ltd. (COMAC), demonstrated that it was able to safely stop on the runway in case of an emergency in its final ground trial in April, and this month’s successful maiden flight was an important milestone for COMAC, and the Chinese aviation industry as a whole.

China hopes to become one of the leading manufacturers of large commercial aircraft, and the C919, which is about the same size as the popular Boeing 737-800 and Airbus A320, is just the first step. It’s been a long journey – the plane was originally supposed to enter service in 2016, as China’s state-owned airlines signed up to purchase the plane back in 2010. But the prototype wasn’t ready until late 2015, due to technical development delays, and it could still face months, or even years, of certification tests, and design changes may be necessary in order to meet safety standards.

Additionally, even though China is expected to become the world’s largest commercial aviation market by 2030, beating out the US, COMAC

Article source: https://3dprint.com/175556/china-jet-3d-printed-metal-parts/

This one really goes below the surface.

At an event in China today, Microsoft announced the new Surface Pro, which will become available on June 15 for $799. (You can already pre-order one.)

The new model looks exactly like the Surface Pro 4 in almost every way, but it has a wealth of new features under the hood. One of the most interesting upgrades has to do with the internal parts. According to one report, there are now over 800 new components used for the laptop, which also works as a tablet.

I’ve mentioned this before, but the Surface laptop (this is technically the fifth iteration, but they’ve dropped the numbering scheme) has started popping up at companies large and small. People seem to love the idea of taking notes with the pen at a meeting, then using one on an airplane like it’s a normal laptop. Microsoft says they’ve now made the Surface Pen (which costs an extra $99) more responsive and accurate.

The processor options are now more varied. There’s nimble Intel Core i7 model for fast processing, and lighter Intel M3 and i5 models that don’t use a fan inside the case. It means you can choose between more power or a lighter, quieter design.

Another major perk: The Surface Pro now lasts 13.5 hours on a charge. Seems like those 800 internal components have been fine-tuned for longevity, and that means the device could easily last two days of normal use in

Article source: https://www.inc.com/john-brandon/microsoft-just-announced-the-best-laptop-they-have-ever-made.html

While it took China a little longer to embrace 3D printing technology, once companies across the country started to get on board, nothing could slow them down. Developments have been made in 3D printing with metal and in aerospace 3D printing, and earlier this month, the first large Chinese commercial passenger jet, featuring 3D printed parts, made its maiden test flight from the Shanghai Pudong International Airport. The 168-seat C919 aircraft, manufactured by the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China Ltd. (COMAC), demonstrated that it was able to safely stop on the runway in case of an emergency in its final ground trial in April, and this month’s successful maiden flight was an important milestone for COMAC, and the Chinese aviation industry as a whole.

China hopes to become one of the leading manufacturers of large commercial aircraft, and the C919, which is about the same size as the popular Boeing 737-800 and Airbus A320, is just the first step. It’s been a long journey – the plane was originally supposed to enter service in 2016, as China’s state-owned airlines signed up to purchase the plane back in 2010. But the prototype wasn’t ready until late 2015, due to technical development delays, and it could still face months, or even years, of certification tests, and design changes may be necessary in order to meet safety standards.

Additionally, even though China is expected to become the world’s largest commercial aviation market by 2030, beating out the US, COMAC

Article source: https://3dprint.com/175556/china-jet-3d-printed-metal-parts/

CHONGQING, Southwest China — Dismembered remote-controlled airplanes lie strewn across an unmade mattress: a motor glued crudely into an improvised wooden housing, landing gear fashioned out of a metal ruler, and sheets of foam advertising board that will become wings, fuselages, and flaps.

This is the spare room of Hu Bo, an 18-year-old from a village two hours from Chongqing who has turned his hand to making flyable models of China’s home-grown aircraft. He started with decades-old military planes and has recently worked on the new flagbearer of the country’s civil aviation industry, the C919 passenger jet. Using self-taught techniques, open-source plans downloaded from the internet, and cheaply acquired or improvised parts, Hu sells his finished models online — unless he crashes them during the test flight. “My technique isn’t so good,” he tells Sixth Tone with a smile as he tinkers with his latest build, a 1.4-meter-wide, twin-propeller plane modeled on China’s Y-12 utility aircraft.

Like millions of other Chinese children, Hu grew up under the guardianship of his grandparents while his parents traveled in search of work, dividing his time between doing homework, playing with the family’s dog, and making intricate paper airplanes at the family home in Yangliu Village, a tiny hamlet around 100 kilometers west of

Article source: http://www.sixthtone.com/news/1000244/model-plane-enthusiast-keeps-aviation-down-to-earth