3D Printing A Full-Scale Turbo-Prop Aircraft Engine

3D Printer Store — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 12:11:41 +0000

The propeller blade-span is over 10 feet in this project that demonstrates how far 3D modeling has advanced.

MINNEAPOLIS, Dec. 2, 2009 — At Autodesk University 2009, Stratasys (NASDAQ: SSYS) and Autodesk unveiled the world’s first full-scale turbo-prop aircraft engine model. It was produced using Stratasys FDM (Fused Deposition Modeling) technology.

The engine’s design was created using Autodesk Inventor 2010 mechanical design and engineering software, and it was produced on both Fortus 3D Production Systems and Dimension 3D Printers from Stratasys.

The engine model sets a new precedence in scale, and it showcases the potential of 3D printing.

“Our Inventor software with FDM technology takes design innovation to an entirely new level of sophistication,” says Autodesk’s Gonzalo Martinez, office of the CTO. “Today at Autodesk University we’ve shown that with FDM, you can create realistic 3D models of nearly any design. We believe that Stratasys FDM technology is the future of 3D printing and production.”

The engine’s gear box includes two sets of gears, which operate two sets of propellers that move in counter rotation to each other.

With an engine length of over 10 feet, a blade-span of 10.5 feet, and 188 components, the engine model is massive in size. It includes several large parts, such as six propeller blades, each measuring 4.5 feet.

Building this physical model with FDM helped improve its design by identifying four opportunities to make components fit or operate with better precision. Assembling a physical model helps design engineers be certain of component form, fit, and function.

The turbo-prop engine was designed by Nino Caldarola, a freelance designer for Autodesk.

He shared his concept with Autodesk who wanted to bring a full-scale model to life using Inventor software and FDM technology.

Caldarola’s design is a hybrid of newer engine and classic engine design and was partially inspired by the Piaggio Avanti II aircraft engine, the TP 500.

Caldarola worked with engineers at RedEye On Demand prototyping and production service, a business unit of Stratasys, to make adjustments that would ensure an accurate physical model.

Source: pddnet.com

Personal 3D Printer

3D Printer Store — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 02:36:52 +0000

uPrint won Popular Mechanics’ annual “SEMA Editor’s Choice Award,” an honor judged by the magazine’s auto editors and given to companies introducing the most innovative new products at SEMA. Each year at the show, Popular Mechanics auto editors assess new products and make their top picks in 12 categories. “Despite the economic downturn, this year’s show was full of innovation,” Popular Mechanics wrote.

3D Printing Technology

Regarding uPrint, they wrote, “Around here, if it’s good enough for Jay Leno, it’s good enough for [Popular Mechanics]. Jay and all the guys at Jay’s Big Dog Garage have been using their $30,000 Dimension 3D printer for about a year and have created some amazing parts for Jay’s classic cars completely from scratch and in house. Now Dimension has a more affordable version that could help schools and small businesses learn the art of rapid prototyping.”

In addition to the Popular Mechanics award, uPrint won SEMA’s Global Media Award given to companies displaying the best new products at the show, as judged by a panel of journalists from 16 countries. The award goes to those products deemed most likely to succeed commercially and to be of most interest to the panel’s readers.

The awards come on the heels of uPrint’s 1000th sale in October. uPrint, the newest addition to Dimension’s industry-leading line of 3D printers, was launched at the end of January.

Source: www.tenlinks.com

3D Printer Store » 3d dimension printer

3D Printing A Full-Scale Turbo-Prop Aircraft Engine

Personal 3D Printer