Don't use aluminum for this, at least in casting. It's too unpredictable and you'll get voids and pockets that will unbalance it.helifrek wrote:Thanks for all the info and help everyone. The Turbofan blades Max RPMs should not exceed 50K, They will be attached to an electric motor for a scale rc airplane, not an actual turbine!!! I know there are a lot of plastic ducted fans out there but I couldn't tell you the rpms or anything on them, I will have to look it up. I have tried to contact a place that does metal 3D printing to find out how much that would cost. I was also thinking about finding someone with a Formlabs printer an try the new tough resin. I have printed a test set of blades from a file on Yeggi, the problem is the blades are so thin that it is hard to get a solid blade to come out, so they end up being a little weak, I wonder if a solid blade from tough resin would be any stronger.....
I also though about casting the turbofan, I have never casted anything but I would like to learn! Been watching youtube videos on casting aluminum and it looks pretty straightforward.
Print the part, hot glue it to a piece of fanfold pink insulation, build a wall around it with more fanfold & hot glue, fill it with Smooth-On's MoldStar 15. After 6 hours, break the walls off, extract the part, and pour TASK-2 into the void it left. Once the TASK-2 cures for 24 hours, then put it in the oven at 170F for 6 hours to post-cure it.