Completely 3D Printed Working Engine that Runs on Water!

[Eddie]

We have seen many 3D printed working engines in the past, but all of these required some other mechanics in order to run. Now a man named Don Clucas has designed what is believed to be the first fully 3D printed engine. Best of all, it runs on water as fuel. This means it is completely "green." These 3D printable Stirling engines are being made available to anyone free of charge. You can download the files from Clucas' website and print one yourself. All that is needed in additional to the 3D printed parts is some glue, and some other tools to assemble it. Then in order to run, it only requires a bowl of hot water, and some ice water on top. Check out details, pictures, and video in the full article: http://3dprint.com/21213/3d-printed-working-engine/ ‎
Below is a photo of a 3D printed Stirling cycle engine:

[Feign]

There have been other 3D printed Sterling engines, but they tend to have a metal plate for the hot side so that you can power them with a candle or other very hot input, rather than just warm water (which won't give you much power at all)

[jgreenly]

We are just getting started with the "Mark One" 3d printer in our small engineering program. I'm working with a small number of undergraduate engineering students and would love to build one of these engines for educational use in our thermodynamics class. Our printer uses Nylon, but can reinforce with Kevlar, Carbon Fiber, or Fiberglass. I'd love to see if anyone has suggestions for us. It seems as though we may have a somewhat higher temperature range. What might I expect if I simply printed the standard design with our materials? Thanks.