And now you’ve just given Boeing executives some great ideas how to further reduce costs! I don’t thank you!!
I have news for you:
3D printing is very common in the aviation industry by now.
They don’t exactly use TPU and Bambulab printers, though… ;-)Oh yes they do.
Aircraft crashed in Gloucestershire after 3D-printed part collapsed - BBC News https://share.google/v8NcjqE0tAK34AiI7
IIRC that entire plane was a DIY plane from a popular kit, not a commercial vehicle.
(not clicking on a Google shortlink)
TPU? You’ll get PLA and like it
“Hey, John! How much are we paying those 3D printers again? I found one here that looks like it would do just the same job for much less!” – quote that will show up in a leak in 2032 after a handful of planes crashes.
ChatGPT said it would work.
One time, this was back in my skydiving days so a very long time ago, the drop zone’s CASA 212 was down due to a bad hydraulic pump. The pump finally arrived and the DZO asked me to help him install it. He was a certified A&P, I just had a lot of experience wrenching on cars but it allowed me to get a lot of free jumps due to helping him out on things like this.
He handed me the pump, which was a LOT lighter than I expected and told me with a smile: “Don’t drop it.”
In inquired as to how much it cost and he replied: “$10,000.”
I was holding a pump in my hands that weighed barely 10 pounds that cost more than my car (this was circa 1998 or so).
A couple years later the igniter box on the port engine died and I helped him replace it… That was a cool $15000. The engines were about $250,000 a piece back in those days.
You are ready to own an airplane if you can wake up in the morning, burn a $100 bill and flush it down the toilet without feeling anything.
You are ready to own a helicopter when you can do the same thing, except with ten $100 bills.
With a helicopter, I think you also need to be actively suicidal.
Not my video, but I did ride it that year at the World Freefall Convention.
With all the bad shit happening due to corrupt government agencies, it’s refreshing to read comments in this post about how the FAA is still anal as fuck like they should be, though flying on a Boeing still makes me nervous.
I honestly don’t even believe that bolt is that cheap. I read horror stories about a set of 4 normal ass “aviation grade” screws that cost thousands of dollars.
Its the signatures that validate the screws that you’re actually paying for.
Please tell me they’re not done, and they’re going to make a ceramic moulding of it, to pour a very strong alloy into… And have the competence in chemistry, metallurgy, metalwork and engineering to know they have the precision and strength to make it work.
Yolo.
In this helicopter, we fucking ball!
That sounds like way more work for approximately the exact same result. If it fits, it fits :D
This is a kind of part you want a single metallic-crystal of… anything less would we subpar and jesus. So no uncontrolled cooling of the cast for you. (or the rotor can decide this is a good day for a extra slow spin and no-flight.)
Stop trying to gatekeep for the fat cats in aviation safety. Your time of plenty is over. We’re onto your lies.
P.S. Pretty sure that dumb little spinny blade on the tail isn’t even doing anything. Just another useless part they want to sell you.
I’m sure it’s not the Jesus bolt(?), don’t worry.
He can just 3D print a second chance at life though, so you’re being kinda whiney bro.
Ok, i’ll bite: 3D print… in what material?
it’s a joke. Morons are crashing planes with 3D printed parts made with plastics designed for Pikachu figurines.
If it only cost pennies to print it’s not strong enough.
Yeah but it’s some serious costs savings!
“Don’t have to pay pilots if they’re dead” – some CEO, probably
PET, of course!
So is the bolt food safe?
It’s PET, so probably.
Tpu
That should last about 0.7 seconds.
That’s exactly the joke.
I was thinking the same thing! lol.
AI said it would be fine. Send it.
This is such a perfect example of why right-to-repair matters: sometimes a “$1,590 part” is really just access. Also, that print looks solid — I’d still check material/heat/vibration limits on a rotor part, but the ingenuity is 💯
See, what no one in here realizes is that the plan was to use this as a master to cast an aluminum one. Aluminium is a metal, and metal is strong. I’m sure everything will be fine. Bonus–aluminum doesn’t rust, so it should last forever. OOP wonders why they weren’t made of aluminum in the first place, and figures it’s “planned obsolescence.”
He’s just waiting for his casting kit to be delivered. He expects to be flying again later that day.
I nominate it for the Darwin awards…
That doesn’t look like any bolt I’ve ever seen…
Not needing food or shelter anymore because you’re dead is also great for your budget.
Going out with a bang is great for everybody’s budget!
And the environment!
Probably until you get to the megaton range. At that point I suspect you’re probably bringing a lot of people with you.
Na, it sounds good but your ungrateful relatives take all your money.
This is called the Jesus nut. It holds the main rotor onto the helicopter. It doesn’t have any redundancy, so if it fails, you’re going to be meeting Jesus in moments.
TIL there’s many Jesus’s nuts are all over the sky.
Chem trails! Jaysus is nutting!
Thankfully this one is built of many redundant layers instead of just one layer of metal.
To be fair, if you don’t have the files. This is an easy way to make a prototype and fit it, and then if it fits you can order it in metal. This is a cheaper proces in iternating in metal from the start
If the choice is between being out $1,590 or plummeting to my death in order to save a few hundred bucks, then I’ll just pay the $1,590.
They call it the Jesus Nut for a reason.
Good news is, that part ain’t getting off the ground. Bad news is, the rotor might get kinda fast first
Because it makes Jesus Nut?
Because if it fails, only Jesus can save you
Bull honkey, knock the rust off 'er, slap on some grease and she’s good as new
Got that Alaskan Airframe and Powerplant license, I see.
I reckon that’s right pardner
Spoken like a true Boeing engineer.
That’s what has me grinning! I’m not replacing a Jesus nut with anything that didn’t come straight from the manufacturer.
I’ve actually flown Robinson helicopters, and there’s no nut that looks like this on the helicopter.
So, probably a joke.
Yeah you just have to deal with mast bumping, as if thats any less worrying.
Mast bumping is such a gentle term for the main rotor just fucking off and the helicopter going from an aircraft to a falling object.
Ah … ! What’s happening? it thought. Er, excuse me, who am I? Hello? Why am I here? What’s my purpose in life? What do I mean by who am I? Calm down, get a grip now … oh! this is an interesting sensation, what is it? It’s a sort of … yawning, tingling sensation in my … my … well I suppose I’d better start finding names for things if I want to make any headway in what for the sake of what I shall call an argument I shall call the world, so let’s call it my stomach. Good. Ooooh, it’s getting quite strong. And hey, what’s about this whistling roaring sound going past what I’m suddenly going to call my head? Perhaps I can call that … wind! Is that a good name? It’ll do … perhaps I can find a better name for it later when I’ve found out what it’s for. It must be something very important because there certainly seems to be a hell of a lot of it. Hey! What’s this thing? This … let’s call it a tail – yeah, tail. Hey! I can can really thrash it about pretty good can’t I? Wow! Wow! That feels great! Doesn’t seem to achieve very much but I’ll probably find out what it’s for later on. Now – have I built up any coherent picture of things yet? No. Never mind, hey, this is really exciting, so much to find out about, so much to look forward to, I’m quite dizzy with anticipation … Or is it the wind? There really is a lot of that now isn’t it? And wow! Hey! What’s this thing suddenly coming towards me very fast? Very very fast. So big and flat and round, it needs a big wide sounding name like … ow … ound … round … ground! That’s it! That’s a good name – ground! I wonder if it will be friends with me?
You’ve flown Robinson?
Willingly?
And lived? Brave soul.
I’d rather plummet to my death.
You can also print in different metals with various processes like laser sintering, still though, there are some things you might not want to skimp on: Probably best to stick to approved parts.
It wouldn’t surprise me if such a critical part was cast as a single metal crystal. The stresses on that rotor mist be unbelievable.
Pretty sure you don’t want a be doing that with an aircraft.
I’m sure it’s safe if you can do it correctly, but I would not trust myself like that
