STRATASYS & AURORA FLIGHT SCIENCES BREAK BARRIERS

Steve Ellis

• Hello all and welcome back for yet another presentation on the power and ingenuity of today's manufacturing capabilities

• Today I would love to highlight the work of Stratasys and their groundbreaking drone

• Stratasys has successfully tested their newest drone in the Salt Flats of Utah making it the world’s largest 3D-printed drone, while also being the fastest as well

• The team tested the new drone and clocked the unmanned airplane at 150 miles per hour!

• It seems like each and every day technology in the 3D-printing space becomes more and more advanced

• New designs for different projects are providing manufacturers and engineers exciting ways to solve old problems with fresh perspective

• People are creating amazing things that are making a large difference in a number of industries and are positively impacting countless lives with these innovations

• Stratasys is one of those companies that is definitely adding to the spirit of technological advancements

• Stratasys worked in tandem with Aurora Flight Sciences, an aviation company to develop the world’s very first 3D-printed aircraft with a jet-powered engine

• The aircraft weighs in at a whopping 33 pounds and soars the clear skies at 150mph

• The two firms truly shattered the barriers in their way and are now receiving tons of attention from everywhere

• The original goal of the project was to demonstrate the efficiency of designing, printing, and flying a 3D-printed aircraft

• The process went by a lot quicker than expected, in fact it only took engineers and specialists 50% less time that it had on previous projects

• The drone composition is made up of 80% 3D-printed materials and through cutting edge technology and design features the team made something fantastic

• The filament extrusion, laser sintering, and laser melting tech are just some of the key components that got this drone the gold medal for unmanned aerial devices

• Dan Campbell of Aurora Flight Science was recently quoted on the work that went into the drone by saying, “recently we decided to really see how far we could push the envelope. No one has 3D-printed an aircraft this big, this fast, and this complex.”

• The par tnership between Aurora Flight Science and Stratasys is seemingly perfect as Aurora specifically chose Stratasys for the project based on their experience with 3D-printed parts

• There was a lot of freedom given and it paid off with a light aircraft and a strategically designed one with custom parts for improved functionality

• Scott Sevcik, a Stratasys Senior Business Development Manager was also quoted on the recent success of both companies

• Sevcik said, “This is a perfect demonstration of the unique capabilities that additive manufacturing can bring to aerospace. This meant using different 3D printing materials and technologies together on one aircraft to maximize the benefits of additive manufacturing and 3D print both lightweight and capable structural components.”

Steve Ellis

Thank you once again for joining me for a new presentation on the wonders of manufacturing, engineering, and 3D-printing. Be

sure to share and check back again soon!