Since the first Radial Engine was built in 1901, the technology has been synonymous with aviation. The first flight across the English Channel was powered by a 3-cylinder 12 hp radial engine, built by Italian engine designer Alessandro Anzani. The heavy bombers of the Second World War were powered by massive 28-cylinder 4,300 hp radial monsters from Pratt & Whitney. The basic operating principle illustrated by this model is accurate to both. Radial engines have largely been supplanted in aviation by gas turbines, but are still found today on specialized acrobatic aircraft.
This 5-Cylinder Radial Engine Model is based on the Forest Edwards Radial 5, a radial model aircraft engine.
Created as the launch object for the MakerBot Replicator 2. The 5 Cylinder Radial engine was used extensive in the marketing materials, banner ads and trade show collateral supporting the Replicator 2.
It was released open source into the Thingiverse community and has become a popular item to build with you new 3D Printer.
The Radial Engine project also included a fully illustrated assembly manual, which was an ambitious undertaking in itself.
Winter 2012
- High complexity engineering grade project
- Extensive documentation
- Fully Illustrated Assembly Manual
Download from Thingiverse: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:52769