3D Printed Miniature Jet Engine Works, Uses Compressed Air

Glasgow, Scotland: A student team called JetX from the University of Glasgow have assembled a 3D printed model of a jet engine that uses compressed air to replicate the realistic firing of the engine.

More than 50 students participated in the project. The functional jet engine was designed in conjunction with manufacturer Rolls-Royce. The engine, called Xplorer-1, is 75 cm long, with a span diameter of 27 cm and weighing in at 8.1 kg. It was assembled from more than 965 3D printed parts, 300 fasteners, and 10 integrated sensors. According to the university, the entire design has been done from scratch with every single piece modelled in line with current aero-propulsion theories.

Students performed computational analyses to examine how flow might change throughout the engine. This included taking into account how the parts would need to take into account specific in-flight forces and landing conditions.

As the air passes through the engine, measurements are taken including temperature, differential pressure and airspeed.