3D printing: engines

[XLRATING]

Check out this video, pretty cool! This is what gives me hope for our parts shortages! (Someday... maybe). Hope the link works.

3D Printed Inline-4 Cylinder - Working Model! - YouTube

 

[ccclarke]

This should fuel your enthusiasm further; Rocket Lab recently launched their first rocket with a completely 3D-printed engine:

Rocket Lab Electron rocket - first flight from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia New Zealand - YouTube

CC

 

[XLRATING]

You are right, that's even more cool, especially since the engine video I found acknowledged they couldn't do internal combustion in it.

That stuff is just amazing.

What may excite me more is the max life of patents, for say headlights & tail lights, is 20 years. Don't know when the XLR stuff was patented but we may not be that far off from it expiring.