3D Printing UAV Parts – Benefits and Dangers

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3D printing for everyday use is, for a while now, no distant dream. The field is so developed nowadays that it was only a matter of time until we hear of positive processes in the flight industry as well, and indeed, a cooperation between Aero Kinetics who maufacturers unmanned aerial vehicles and SLM solutions NA, which specializes in the area of 3D printing of metals, is making this dream come to life. The founder of Aero Kinetics has said that “The safety, speed, and quality of SLM’s machines are well suited to produce ultra-lightweight structural components for unmanned aircraft. When coupled with Aero Kinetics’ subject matter expertise in design for additive metal manufacturing, we will reduce weight in our critical structural components.”

The agreement between the two will allow the UAV company to create better vehicles for its business clients in border defense, agriculture and news, as well as  search and rescue services. On top of that, applying 3D printing technology to the unmanned aerial vehicles field will reduce significantly the cost of parts’ manufacturing as well as make the whole process a much faster one, which will make the UAV field very accessible to the general public and not only to those of fortune.

However, accessing UAVs to less wealthy sectors and giving the public a possibility to purchase them might hold many dangers. Different terror organizations such as Palestinian Hamas or Lebanese Hezbolla could develop abilities which were, until that point, available in a very limited way. The curb of constant improvement in technology, simultaneous with it becoming cheaper, could result in different organizations being able to buy such aerial platforms and using them to collect intelligence or, worse, to carry explosives in order to explode on military and civilian targets.