Aviation is a field continually seeing improvements thanks to 3D printing, for example Airbus’ new A380 XMB plane saving a fortune in fuel thanks to the complex geometrical shapes it has integrated made possible by 3D printing. Now it’s GE’s turn to innovate by partially 3D printing a functional plane engine.

The plane to use such an engine, the Cessna Denali. The turboprop plane hopes to use 20% less fuel than previous model with 10% more power. This is thanks to the streamlined engine design created with various 3D printed parts. 35% of all parts in the engine are to be 3D printed making history as the only production engine with this amount of 3D printed components.

Engine Assembly (GE)

The a-CT7 engine, features 12 3D printed parts replacing more than 855 conventionally manufactured parts. 3D printing’s unique ability to create large and complex assemblies in one piece meant that the smaller parts didn’t need to be manufactured, saving both time and money. Gordon Follin, ATP Engineering GM at GE Aviation explains:

“Typically, the weakest element of an assembly is where parts come together…It’s a place where you can have air leakage, or you can have wear between parts if there’s any sort of relative motion. And by using additive, you eliminate the leakage paths. You eliminate potential wear paths as well.”

Currently being tested, the a-CT7 will be continually iterated and worked on to make sure it can function correctly for it’s first full test. It shows a great example of where 3D printing has been applied to reduce the part count and weight of integral piece of a build.