GE Aviation successfully tested a turboprop engine, printed on a 3D printer. The number of engine parts was reduced from 855 to 12, and the development time - from ten to two years, writes 3dprint. com. General Electric - GE Aviation - conducted a full-scale test of the turboprop engine for Cessna Denali aircraft from Textron Aviation. The project started two years ago, and now they are completing the final tests. "This is a turning point," says project manager Paul Korkery. - We now have a working engine. We officially go from design and development to final tests and certification ". When developing a new engine, GE used several breakthrough technologies. A third of the engine is a single piece of titanium alloy printed on a 3D printer. In total, the number of parts was reduced from 855 to 12. It also allowed to reduce the weight of the engine by 45 kg, reduce fuel consumption by 20% and increase power by 10%. Over the engine, there were 400 designers and engineers from the Czech Republic, Italy, Poland and the USA. In the compressor variable blades were used, which are usually put on the engines of supersonic fighters.

They allow you to change the angle, under which the air rushes on the blade, which increases the efficiency of the engine even at high altitudes. During the tests, the engineers surrounded the engine with a lot of sensors, which collected enough data to make it possible to conduct full-fledged tests already on the digital model. In general, thanks to 3D printing, the company managed to reduce the development time of the aircraft engine to two years. Usually it takes 10 years.

Original article: GE successfully tested a printed turboprop.