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Building manual

LW-PLA

Than you CNC-kitchen for this fantastic video on light weight PLA.

The use of Lw-PLA has really been a game-changer for 3d-printed airplanes. Half the weight and nicer surface finish.

The only con is that it’s oozing a lot.
To overcome this you can design the parts for printing with as few retractions as possible. That is what I’ve tried to do with this Ryan.

Speed

With LW-PLA you have to drop the speed quite drastically. Colorfabb recommends 40-100mm/s but I found that 25mm/s makes much more clean and accurate parts.

Temperature and Extrusion multiplier

In my settings I use 250° and 0.45 for Extrusion multiplier. To get it right for your machine I strongly recommend that you do a test cube and try different temperatures and multiplier settings till you get a wall thickness of 0.4mm.

Retraction

I dropped the retraction to 0.5mm. If you have the same settings as ordinary PLA the nozzle will clog eventually.

Slicer

I strongly recommend you to use Prusa slicer. Get it here for free. All thin wall parts is designed for Prusa slicer in mind.

Download slicer presets for Prusa slicer.

Unzip the file.
In Prusa slicer, go to File – Open project and select one of the presets.
For all the parts with spiral mode, like the wings fuselage and tail feathers, choose LW-PLA 7 bottom spiral.
For the parts like the landing gears, choose LW-PLA 6% infill.
For the tires, choose TPU varioflex.

Wings

All pieces except W6 have the same settings.

  • Vertical shells: 1
  • Bottom layers: 7
  • Top layers: 0
  • No supports
  • No infill
  • Spiral vase: Yes

Cut away all the yellow parts.

Slicer preset file: LW-PLA 7 bottom spiral

W1

W2

W3

W4

W5

W6

  • Vertical shells: 1
  • Bottom layers: 2
  • Top layers: 2
  • No supports
  • Infill: 6% gyroid
  • Spiral vase: No

Slicer preset file: LW-PLA 6% infill.

Wing struts

  • Vertical shells: 3
  • Bottom layers: 3
  • Top layers: 3
  • No supports
  • Infill: 100%
  • Spiral vase: No

Wire covers

  • Vertical shells: 2
  • Bottom layers: 2
  • Top layers: 2
  • Supports: yes
  • Infill: No
  • Spiral vase: No

Be extremely careful taking away the support material. The parts are very small and delicate.

Fuselage

F1

  • Vertical shells: 1
  • Bottom layers: 7
  • Top layers: 0
  • No supports
  • No infill
  • Spiral vase: No

Slicer preset file: LW-PLA 7 bottom spiral. Adjust the print settings by unchecking the spiral vase mode.

F2

  • Vertical shells: 1
  • Bottom layers: 7
  • Top layers: 0
  • No supports
  • No infill
  • Spiral vase: Yes

Cut away the yellow part.

Slicer preset file: LW-PLA 7 bottom spiral

F3

  • Vertical shells: 1
  • Bottom layers: 7
  • Top layers: 0
  • No supports
  • No infill
  • Spiral vase: Yes

Cut away the yellow parts and openings for the servo cables on the floor of the cockpit. There is a little marking where to cut. Make the holes big enough for the servo connector to get through.

Slicer preset file: LW-PLA 7 bottom spiral

F4

  • Vertical shells: 1
  • Bottom layers: 7
  • Top layers: 0
  • No supports
  • No infill
  • Spiral vase: Yes

Cut away the yellow parts.

It’s easier if you glue the servos before you glue the fuselage. It’s really tight once you glue it together.

Slicer preset file: LW-PLA 7 bottom spiral

F5

  • Vertical shells: 1
  • Bottom layers: 7
  • Top layers: 0
  • No supports
  • No infill
  • Spiral vase: Yes

Cut away the yellow parts.

Slicer preset file: LW-PLA 7 bottom spiral

F6

  • Vertical shells: 1
  • Bottom layers: 7
  • Top layers: 0
  • No supports
  • No infill
  • Spiral vase: Yes

Slicer preset file: LW-PLA 7 bottom spiral

F7

  • Vertical shells: 1
  • Bottom layers: 0
  • Top layers: 0
  • No supports
  • No infill
  • Spiral vase: No

Slicer preset file: LW-PLA 7 bottom spiral. Adjust the print settings by unchecking the spiral vase mode and set bottom layers to 0.

F-hatch

  • Vertical shells: 1
  • Bottom layers: 7
  • Top layers: 0
  • No supports
  • No infill
  • Spiral vase: No

Slicer preset file: LW-PLA 7 bottom spiral. Adjust the print settings by unchecking the spiral vase mode.

Headrest

  • Vertical shells: 2
  • Bottom layers: 2
  • Top layers: 3
  • No supports
  • Infill: 6% gyroid
  • Spiral vase: No

Glue this piece to F4.

Slicer preset file: LW-PLA 6% infill.

Rudder hinge

  • Vertical shells: 4
  • Bottom layers: 7
  • Top layers: 2
  • No supports
  • Infill: 15% gyroid
  • Spiral vase: No

Print this part with PLA or PETG.15%

Glue this part to F6.

Cowling

Cowl1

  • Vertical shells: 1
  • Bottom layers: 0
  • Top layers: 3
  • Supports: Yes
  • Infill: No
  • Spiral vase: No

Cowl2

  • Vertical shells: 1
  • Bottom layers: 7
  • Top layers: 0
  • Supports: No
  • Infill: No
  • Spiral vase: Yes

Slicer preset file: LW-PLA 7 bottom spiral

E1-E4

  • Vertical shells: 2
  • Bottom layers: 2
  • Top layers: 0
  • Supports: No
  • Infill: No
  • Spiral vase: No

Cut the holes in the exhaust pipes.

Slicer preset file: LW-PLA 7 bottom spiral. Adjust the print settings as described above.

Tailwheel assembly

Print all the yellow parts with PLA or PETG for strngth. The tire is printed with TPU or VarioShore TPU. I used VarioShore TPU with great success.
The carbon tube is 3mm.

Glue the whole assembly together before gluing it to F6. It’s also important to make the control arm and put it in the control horn before gluing it to the fuselage.

PLA parts

  • Vertical shells: 4
  • Bottom layers: 2
  • Top layers: 2
  • No supports
  • Infill: 15%
  • Spiral vase: No

Tire

  • Vertical shells: 2
  • Bottom layers: 4
  • Top layers: 4
  • No supports
  • Infill: 10% gyroid
  • Spiral vase: No

Landing gear

LG1 and LG2

  • Vertical shells: 2
  • Bottom layers: 2
  • Top layers: 2
  • No supports
  • Infill: 6% gyroid
  • Spiral vase: No

Take a 5mm carbon rod to stiffen the landing gear. This rod goes into the spar.

Slicer preset file: LW-PLA 6% infill.

Wheel hubs

  • Vertical shells: 2
  • Bottom layers: 2
  • Top layers: 2
  • No supports
  • Infill: 6% gyroid
  • Spiral vase: No
Make 4 wheel hubs.
Ordinary PLA.

Tires

  • Vertical shells: 2
  • Bottom layers: 4
  • Top layers: 4
  • No supports
  • Infill: 6% gyroid
  • Spiral vase: No
Make 2 tires.
TPU och VarioShore TPU.

Spar

  • Vertical shells: 3
  • Bottom layers: 4
  • Top layers: 4
  • No supports
  • Infill: 10% gyroid
  • Spiral vase: No

Slicer preset file: LW-PLA 6% infill. Adjust the print setting as described obove.

Vertical stab and rudder

V-stab-1 and V-stab-2

  • Vertical shells: 1
  • Bottom layers: 7
  • Top layers: 0
  • No supports
  • Infill: No
  • Spiral vase: Yes

Slicer preset file: LW-PLA 7 bottom spiral

Rudder-1, Rudder-2 and Rudder-3

  • Vertical shells: 1
  • Bottom layers: 7
  • Top layers: 0
  • No supports
  • Infill: No
  • Spiral vase: Yes

Slicer preset file: LW-PLA 7 bottom spiral

Rudder-4

  • Vertical shells: 1
  • Bottom layers: 7
  • Top layers: 2
  • No supports
  • Infill: No
  • Spiral vase: No

Slicer preset file: LW-PLA 7 bottom spiral. Adjust the print settings by unchecking the spiral vase mode and adding 2 top layers.

Horizontal stab and elevators

All parts except elevator horn

  • Vertical shells: 1
  • Bottom layers: 7
  • Top layers: 0
  • No supports
  • Infill: No
  • Spiral vase: Yes

Cut away the yellow parts.

Slicer preset file: LW-PLA 7 bottom spiral

H-stab 1

H-stab 2

H-stab 3

Elev 1

Elev 2

Elev 3

Elevator-horn

  • Vertical shells: 2
  • Bottom layers: 7
  • Top layers: 0
  • No supports
  • Infill: No
  • Spiral vase: No

This part is printed in regular high quality PLA or PETG.

Pre flight check

CG position

To get the right flight characteristics, getting the center of gravity right is very important. Flying a tail-heavy plane is not fun.
The CG should be 40-45mm from the leading edge of the wing.

Glue the battery holder last. Put a battery in place and find the position so the CG gets correct. Then glue it in place.

Flodin Modelworks
A part of Flodin Works AB
Åsögatan 103, Stockholm
Sweden
hej@flodinworks.se

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