The 3D Printed Jet Engine video

Engineers at GE Aviation 3D-printed a working version of a jet engine.

The video shows parts for the model jet engine being made with 3d laser sintering.



The cool part in the video is them running the engine at 33K RPM.

This gets me thinking. If GE is showing this now. How long have other government contractors had this? I can imagine that they are just going through r&d at a much faster rate if they can just print parts and then test them.

a reply to: grey580
Ok take my money , I want one after confirming: "sofia vergara 3d printer output " returned no hits.

a reply to: interupt42

While a sofia vergara sounds tempting, i think i'll opt for the blue prints of a Bugatti Veyron

"Oh this little thing? Just downloaded it off the internet, it gets me around."

a reply to: Biigs

Amazing times we are living in. Personal 3D printers is going to be a huge economic impact in the near future.

However, I still prefer my 3d printout ride selection

You wouldn't download a jet would you...

Oh, wait. . .

I think that means GE is going to have the edge on the non-human rated jet engines. Cheaper cruise missiles!

a reply to: grey580

This is definitely the way manufacturing parts and goods will be done in the not so distant future. What I would be concerned about is how strong is the binding between layers. Overtime there has to be some fatigue to the material considering the amount of force being applied to the housing of the jet engine. I'm sure there will have to a lot more testing before they risk using this technology on passenger planes. I certainly wouldn't want to go on that maiden flight!

Having said that, you have to wonder if this additive technology wasn't reversed engineered or given to us by an advanced alien race. Considering their have been documented UFO case studies and close-up eye witness reports which have described alien vehicles or equipment of having no bolts, rivets and seems as if they were molded out of smooth metal alloy. I digress..

He explained that as they cautiously moved closer they realized the craft was smooth with no noticeable seams, rivets, bolts or weld marks. He said it looked as if it had been molded.

I think that the take away here is.

Once perfect everything from metal parts to circuitry.

We'll have a very 1st gen replicator from Star Trek.

That's an awesome video - that's the first time I've seen a fully functional jet engine printed using 3D printing.

I knew most of the research and design is done use Finite-Element-Analysis (FEA) and CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) software. They can actually model and test out the airflow before anything has even been printed. Once those designs are close to optimal they would make real world models, but with regular manufacturing that stage would take months. Back 50 years, they would make models out of clay then run them through wind tunnels with smoke.

a reply to: buddah6

I'm sure Williams International isn't too far behind. Their engines are relatively cheap and very reliable as is.

Regardless, pretty awesome. I remember hearing about 3D printers years ago, glad to see them expanding into so much industry.

a reply to: buddah6

I've heard some insane rumors about what they've done with engines. It'll be interesting to see how this plays with that.

a reply to: cmdrkeenkid

The Williams Research story is pretty interesting. It seems that Williams is the engineer behind the Bell Jet Pack of the 1960's. When the program was canceled he started Williams Research and developed a flying platform for the army. I haven't followed their developments since but I'm always interested in new technologies.

a reply to: Zaphod58

Is there anything to share with us?

a reply to: buddah6

Nothing specific, but a couple of very interesting "rules" involving air into the engine have been rewritten.

a reply to: Zaphod58

What kinda material does the 3d printer work with? Carbon, graphene, various metals, anything that the laser will cut through or carve, etch? Always wondered since I never really looked into the whole thing.

a reply to: Zaphod58

I'm going to have to think about this one!

a reply to: BASSPLYR

Linky thing

a reply to: Zaphod58

Thermo plastics Ehh... Bassplyrs got some more crazy ideas. Too cool to post though. But yeah air & engine efficiency.

Cool thing about 3d printing is the work shops in the hangars can each have one and mill new parts as needed to replace worn out ones on the fly and service aircraft in record time.

a reply to: BASSPLYR

CMCs are finally hitting engine development and are making a noticeable difference immediately.