GE has been doing its part to spread the news about 3D printing’s potential in industrial manufacturing. Aside form their new LEAP engine, built with 3D printed fuel nozzles meant to save 15% in fuel costs and emissions, the company has taken part in numerous marketing campaigns and is even currently touring the world with their own pop-up makerspaces. Today, the company is further promoting the industry by giving away 3D printed jet engines to twelve lucky contestants.
Before you get too excited about receiving a LEAP engine to power your motorboat this summer, I have to warn you that these giveaways are for show only. The 3D printed engines in the Build Your Own Jet Engine contest are small enough to fit on your desktop and, with a neat little hand crank, can help you while away the hours until the workday ends. All you have to do to enter is fill out the form on this website.
If you’ve got your own 3D printer, however, why wait for some silly contest when you can 3D print your own via Thingiverse? If you don’t have your own 3D printer, this 3D printed engine might be cool enough to make you want to start saving up.
I’ve got to hand it to the art department behind GE’s marketing. Those are some slick photos and .gifs. Their tumblr presence on the other hand smacks of effort. For instance, the tumblr post for the feature image of this article says, “Over the past week, we’ve been 3D printing something badass, and this piece of it is pretty bangin’.” Doesn’t GE know that, to be cool on tumblr, you have to look like you don’t care? The best way to do so is with dog pics, hentai, and juxtaposing corporate symbols over 90s glitch art. Anyway, even if it isn’t my taste, that gear in front of a blue background has 47 notes at the time of this writing, so I guess they’re doing something right!
