Boeing

3D Printed Wing Tip End Cap

Modern commercial aircraft wings often include winglets or rake tips to minimize wingtip vortices that cause drag. These tip designs have become very intricate and complex in order to achieve the maximum efficiency. These designs, in many cases, must be fabricated out of solid metal in order to achieve the required shape and stiffness with the limitations of traditional machining processes. This student team worked to design (with optimization for weight reduction and stiffness), print, and test a sub-scale lattice reinforced hollow wing tip end cap to replace a traditional machined wing tip, and provided Boeing with an evaluation of tier findings and recommendation for suitable lattice structure designs.