European aerospace manufacturer, Airbus, just unveiled the world’s first ever 3D printed aircraft. And you’ll love its name.
They call it Thor!
It’s short for “Test of High-tech Objectives in Reality”. It was revealed during the International Aerospace Exhibition and Air Show at Berlin’s Schoenefeld airport. It weighs 21 kgs and 13 ft long. One of its interesting features is that it can fly without a pilot. It also uses propellers. The plane is believed to be stable according to its chief engineer, Gunnar Haase.
Source: Giphy
According to Detlev Konigorski, the head developer of Thor, “We want to see if we can speed up the development process by using 3D printing not just for individual parts but for an entire system.”
Source: Ruptly
Companies have been experimenting to use 3D printing in developing aircrafts since it is cheaper and no waste are produced during manufacturing. Aside from Airbus, US company Boeing, also prints some parts of its planes using 3D printing technology.
