A Chinese 3D printing company, Farsoon Technologies has announced the successful testing of its 3D printed turbojet engine parts. The 3D printed engine parts passed the tests of 100,000 rotations per minute. Farsoon technologies intend to foray into the international markets of metal additive manufacturing. The company established its American branch Farsoon Americas last year. Farsoon’s 3D printed turbojet engine project is a huge leap in the aerospace parts manufacturing sector.

An engine that surpasses the 100,000 per minute mark is a robust engine designed to sustain heavy usage. Engine parts manufactured using conventional methods could rupture at speeds above 100000 per minute. With 3D printing, however, stronger and robust engines can be manufactured. With the success of the turbojet engine 3D printing, the company plans to manufacture the complete engine that can be fitted into the aircraft. At the next level, Farsoon will employ Aircraft Engine optimization where the engine parts will be significantly reduced. This would improve the engine life and the engines will be put through 160000 rotations per minute to further test their sustainability.

Selective Laser Sintering Method ( SLM) was used to manufacture the engine parts, namely stator and rotor parts to create a long and narrow channel for the structure of the rotor. The additive manufacturing process reduced the heat transfer effect of these parts by 90%, overcoming the limitations of traditional manufacturing methods. The nanometer-scale particles were derived at 104°C /s, increasing the mechanical properties of many parts and also doubled the tensile strength and yield strength of these parts. The company further said that the Nickel-based rotor parts had surpassed the performance level of traditionally manufactured parts. 3D printing was also used in the research, designing, and prototyping of the parts of the new pump of the turbojet engine.