3D Printing is still considered an emerging technology with many advancements still on the horizon; however, 3D printing has really shown its worth in several ways. One of which is producing lightweight structures that were not previously manufacturable or far too capital and labor intensive to manufacture with traditional methods.
On a rare occasion and between customer projects here at www.trivectorprinting.com we like to embrace our inner nerd and print something interesting. This week it is the GE engine bracket designed by M Arie Kurniawan on GrabCAD because we think this is the coolest thing since sliced bread as far as jet engine brackets are concerned.
The bracket was printed on one of our FDM printers in ABS. We use fully enclosed printers to keep a constant temperature which allows for large ABS prints without any warping. After minor post-processing, we primed and painted the model a color closely matching zinc chromate aircraft paint/primer just for fun (again the inner nerd is shining through).
By examining the front and back of the model you can see that the bracket features a complex design optimized for lightweight while still retaining the desired strength and safety factor. This is where 3D printing truly shines with its ability to reproduce complex geometry efficiently and at low cost.
Finally, the assembly was finished by bolting the bracket to a 3D printed ABS base with 3/8 in bolts for display.
The unmatched capability, material choice, and efficiency of 3D printing truly raises the bar for all types of manufacturing and brings new meaning to “the sky is the limit.” If you have a project in mind don’t hesitate to visit our website or contact us here.
