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I'm eagerly anticipating the day when hobbyists can 3-D print engine blocks and cylinder heads. Imagine the engine swaps enthusiasts will come up with when the

I'm eagerly anticipating the day when hobbyists can 3-D print engine blocks and cylinder heads. Imagine the engine swaps enthusiasts will come up with when they can make their own designs from scratch and share high-performance designs as open source hardware. It will also be a boon to people restoring antique cars, the ability to print a new period-correct engine block.

bryanlarsen 7y ago
Wouldn't milling be a much better way of creating bespoke engine blocks than printing?
rpmisms 7y ago
Printing engine blocks will never work without sintering. Metallurgy has limits.
- bumby 7y ago
  Direct metal laser sintering (DMLS) 3D printers already exist. Is there any reason these aren't capable of building engine components?
  - rpmisms 7y ago
    Yes, tensile strength and metal composition. A modern engine block is far more complex then a simple milled piece of steel.
    - bumby 7y ago
      Sintering != milling. It is not uncommon for engine components to be milled. I guess what I'm asking is if there are properties inherit in sintering (e.g., crystalline structure) that make it unsuitable for engine components. You mentioned tensile strength and composition, are you alluding to the fact that specific alloys can't be used in laser sintering or that the process itself creates inferior composition?
      - rpmisms 7y ago
        The latter, although many common sintering alloys simply couldn't meet the requirements to be an engine block. The crystalline structure caused by the unique thermal process of sintering creates a far less stable structure, especially against thermal stress, which is less than ideal for a combustion engine. In my original comment, I meant to say forging. You could sinter and then forge, which could work.
        bumby 7y ago
        Any background sources on that? I'm curious because SpaceX is using 3D printing for some of their engine components
crispyambulance 7y ago
It's getting there, but the dimensional tolerance and finish for something like an engine block isn't something 3D printing can do yet-- or ever. It might be OK for many parts (like the manifolds) but some parts will _always_ need to be finished by traditional machining operations. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyYcomX7Lus https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyYcomX7Lus
- mechagodzilla 7y ago
  I'm not sure if that's what this one is doing specifically, but there are metal additive-manufacturing machines out there that are 'hybrids' where they can print and mill as they go to effectively make 3d-printed parts with very good tolerance / surface finish. So they _do_ get finished with traditional machining operations, it's just done as its being printed out.

bryanlarsen 7y ago

Wouldn't milling be a much better way of creating bespoke engine blocks than printing?

rpmisms 7y ago

Printing engine blocks will never work without sintering. Metallurgy has limits.

bumby 7y ago
Direct metal laser sintering (DMLS) 3D printers already exist. Is there any reason these aren't capable of building engine components?
- rpmisms 7y ago
  Yes, tensile strength and metal composition. A modern engine block is far more complex then a simple milled piece of steel.
  - bumby 7y ago
    Sintering != milling. It is not uncommon for engine components to be milled. I guess what I'm asking is if there are properties inherit in sintering (e.g., crystalline structure) that make it unsuitable for engine components. You mentioned tensile strength and composition, are you alluding to the fact that specific alloys can't be used in laser sintering or that the process itself creates inferior composition?
    - rpmisms 7y ago
      The latter, although many common sintering alloys simply couldn't meet the requirements to be an engine block. The crystalline structure caused by the unique thermal process of sintering creates a far less stable structure, especially against thermal stress, which is less than ideal for a combustion engine. In my original comment, I meant to say forging. You could sinter and then forge, which could work.
      - bumby 7y ago
        Any background sources on that? I'm curious because SpaceX is using 3D printing for some of their engine components

crispyambulance 7y ago

It's getting there, but the dimensional tolerance and finish for something like an engine block isn't something 3D printing can do yet-- or ever. It might be OK for many parts (like the manifolds) but some parts will _always_ need to be finished by traditional machining operations. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyYcomX7Lus https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyYcomX7Lus

mechagodzilla 7y ago
I'm not sure if that's what this one is doing specifically, but there are metal additive-manufacturing machines out there that are 'hybrids' where they can print and mill as they go to effectively make 3d-printed parts with very good tolerance / surface finish. So they _do_ get finished with traditional machining operations, it's just done as its being printed out.