HLG Glider

HLG Glider:

HLG Glider is designed to be accessible and functional 3D printed hand-throw glider. All parts are printed, the only additional component is CA glue. Glider is designed to be printed out of regular non-foaming PLA using 0.3 mm extrusion width with standard 0.4 mm nozzle.

Specifications:

Printing tips:

• Standard non-foaming PLA can be used. Foaming LW-PLA would be probably better, but it was not tested yet.
• Use filament with good layer adhesion.
• Use extrusion width 0.3 mm. It is a bit unusual, but perfectly possible even with 0.4 mm nozzle.
• Print speed should be slower than usual.
• No supports are needed. Even “Tail” part can be printed without supports.
• Most parts are printed with one perimeter and without any infill. Internal reinforcing structures are achieved by “cracks”, which forces slicer to use perimeters inside of parts.
• Set “Slice gap closing radius” to value at most 0.01 mm. Internal reinforcements won’t be printed otherwise.
• Outer perimeters are printed first. This assures smooth surface and precise shape.
• Several parts are printed with 100% infill. For example nose tip works as balancing weight.
• There should be enough free space on the bed around parts with thin walls, especially tail surfaces.
• Parts with thin walls should not be printed alone to prevent overheating and deformations.
• Make sure, that seam for wings and tail surfaces is placed at the trailing edge.
• When everything is set correctly, slicer should report filament consumption close to 83 g for all parts.

Parts with 100% infill: 

• Tip.stl
• Spacer.stl
• Wing Key 1.stl
• Wing Key 2.stl;

Slicer configuration for all other parts: 

Layer Height: 0.2 mm

Perimeters: 1

Solid Layers Top: 0

Solid Layers Bottom: 0

External Perimeters First: Yes

Fill Density: 0%

Extrusion width: 0.3 mm (nozzle 0.4 mm can be used)

Slice gap closing radius: 0.01 mm (important !)

Assembling:

Printed parts are thin and fragile, so some patience and caution is necessary.

All parts are glued together using CA glue. Drying time is long, because glue has to be used in relatively thick layers. It is an advantage to use CA glue activator. Proven method is to keep parts in vertical position until glue is dry.

Assembled glider has two parts: fuselage and wing. They are connected in a detachable manner using two parts called “Wing key”.

Centre of gravity should be approximately 42 mm from the leading edge. It can be adjusted using several “Spacer” parts.
 

Flying:

Wing loading is significantly higher in comparison to balsa-wood hand-throw gliders. Because of this, glider flies noticeably faster, but flies well. Fuselage is susceptible to damage. It survives longer when glider lands to high and soft grass.