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Has anyone 3D printed an RC engine to create a dummy radial?


PWLT
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Hi, a bit of a left-field and newbie question combined if I may please.

I'd like to create a dummy radial engine for a restoration project I'm working on.

However, the radial kits made from ply/wood I've seen advertised don't look anything like the actual single cylinder 4 stroke I intend to use for the aircraft powerplant.

Recently, I came across a website that sells 3D CAD models of RC engines and I wondered if this would be a good foundation on which to try and reconstruct the dummy radial by 3D printing the extra cylinders?

This design, in particular, look like my OS FS.

**LINK**

So before I dive in and try something new, I thought I should ask if anyone has tried this before and if yes, then what was the result, pros and cons etc.

Obviously, the weight and toughness of the 3D materials would be a major consideration and especially its resistance to heat.

Thoughts?

Many thanks in advance

Regards to all

Peter

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I haven't done a 3D printed engine but I did one of my Locamp homebuilt.

A long and fairly tedious job but worth it.

locamp engine.jpg

This involved stamping out an awfull lot of 1/32 ply discs in two sizes plus extra for the finned valve chests

The other tricky task was making the rocker covers with the engine name embossed on each one.

You can just see the four stroke engine sticking out on the right side of the engine

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Thanks everyone, there is clearly a lot of expertise here!!

The single-cylinder engine I hope to mount is an OS FS-70S. In my simple view of the world, I would "print" an additional 4 cylinders and use them to fabricate a reasonable impression of a 5 cylinder OS radial.

The end result would be close to something like an O.S. FR5-300 SIRIUS 5-Cylinder Radial

This isn't for a scale model, so it doesn't have to be a scale representation of a full-size engine. It's purely to add some interest to a rather chunky sports/trainer. The existing cowl has never looked quite right to me, so I thought I'd do away with it and fit a "fake" radial instead of mounting just a single-cylinder engine.

I don't own a printer myself, but I have used online services in the past and the results have been impressive.

Thanks again

Peter

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Peter,

I made this dummy engine, constructed from water waste pipe, bleach bottle, balsa and drinking straws. The model is 12 years old so it has held up well, it's not scale but finishes the model off.

dscf0051.jpg.jpg

dscf0053.jpg.jpg

dscf0038.jpg.jpg

I also made a depron version for electric, the plans for this were published a few years ago in RCM&E, same principle.

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Posted by Richard Harris on 25/10/2020

That looks excellent and exactly what I’m hoping to achieve!
It sounds like traditional model crafts are still the way to go.
I’ll report back progress in due course.
Thanks again to all.

Peter

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