Given the challenges with precision, building functional machines with a household 3D printer isn’t easy. And that’s why it’s all the more impressive that someone on the RC Groups forum has used a 3D printer to make a fully functional scale model of a Boeing 787’s GE-built turbofan jet engine.
Harcoreta’s scale replica, which includes over 60 3D-printed blades and vanes on the inside, isn’t just a model destined to collect dust on a shelf. It actually produces more than enough thrust to power a remote-controlled aeroplane, and that’s exactly what its creator intends to use it for.
To make the design and build of the replica even more challenging, but also more accurate to the real thing, Harcoreta has even incorporated a functional thrust reverser into his engine. So when he’s eventually bringing an RC aeroplane in for a landing, he’ll be able to stop his creation in time before it runs off the end of a runway. [RC Groups via The Awesomer]
