Chemical company Evonik, like many other chemical companies, saw the opportunity there is in 3D printing and began manufacturing materials for the technology along with its other products a while ago.
Evonik’s work with 3D printing materials has taken it into the realm of biocompatible implants, potentially leading to more effective treatment for people with serious bone injuries or diseases.
UAVs go well with 3D printing, and that is a good new for anyone who, like Evonik, is considering using UAVs in large-scale maintenance operations, or for many, many other purposes.
¿Is 3D printing speeding adoption of UAVs across industries and across the world? Yes: 3D printing means UAVs are easier, faster and cheaper to manufacture, and because they’re so easy and inexpensive to create, bigger risks can be taken with their design and their usage, meaning more creative applications.
Recently, Evonik began looking into UAVs as part of its plant maintenance program. The company 3D printed a multicopter and flew it over its Wesseling site. The multicopter transmitted live images of the water tower and pipe bridges to a monitor on the control unit, demonstrating its efficacy in providing support for maintenance work. “Overall, the experiment showed that drones are ideally suited as support for projects such as maintenance work,” Evonik said.
Another good example of the good marriage between 3D Printing and UAV manufacturing is the partially 3D printed Bat Bot, a marvel of engineering, designed as an alternative to traditional quadcopters, to be used in urban areas or other cramped environments. Bat Bot was designed to be used for everything from search and rescue to personal assistance. ¿Also for military? Well, the military uses of Bat Bot can’t be ignored, as UAVs have already become critical for surveillance and supply delivery, and soldiers are beginning to 3D print their own with more frequency.
