petenico

Hi Snowy, Originally designed, the cylinders and their fins were to be printed in quarter segments and glued together but it soon became apparent that due to warping and lack of an effective adhesive this would be difficult, so I re-designed the cylinder assembly as per the drawing. Warping remains a problem but, with help off the forum (and metres of wasted PLA!), I have learnt how to minimise its effect. Yes, the CAD work has been at least half of the total effort. All of the components though are basic solids added or subtracted from each other, so nothing too challenging (luckily!) for the Autocad 2007 I am using. Many thanks for the nice comments from all the forum members. The Ultimaker is proving to be excellent for my model making and I am finding more and more uses for it. Regards, Pete.

Hi All, This is a static display model of a Bristol Mercury radial aircraft engine. The model is approximately 28cm in diameter and is built from 427 separate components joined together with No2 self tapping screws. A second one is underway and will be the dummy engine for a radio controlled electric powered 22.5% scale model of the Gloster Gladiator bi-plane. 3D modelled in Autocad and produced on an Ultimaker in PLA - thanks to I Robert I and Daid (way back in November 2012) for producing a sample part before I took the plunge. There are a few more photos in the gallery: http://umforum.ultimaker.com/index.php?/gallery/album/102-model-aero-engine/ Regards, Pete (UK).

Daid/Robert, I am very impressed. Amazing. Thanks to you both for taking the trouble to test-build the part for me from my file. I am now more than convinced that the Ultimaker is capable of producing what I require (a STEEP learning curve heading my way, I believe). Looking forward to trying anyway. Attached is a pic of how the cylinder pieces are broken down (to allow fused fillament construction) and a pic of how it all appears when the pieces are glued together. All the other components of the engine are solid modeled ready for preparing but the cylinders looked the most difficult parts so (hopefully!) it may get easier. One question to either/both of you. Do you use Cura or Netfabb for preparing your models? Pete.

Robert, I agree (!) ...see attached file. Pete.

Hi, Can anyone help please? I have a .stl file for the part you see in the image that I would like to see printed before I commit to buying an Ultimaker. The file size is 4.8MB and the part is approx. 65mm long, 50mm wide and 27mm tall. PLA material would be suitable (any colour), ideally built with a 0.1mm layer height and it can have infill or be solid. The maximum width of any wall is 0.8mm. The component is part of the cylinder for a static display model of a radial engine. Thanks for looking, Pete (UK).