3-D printers design engine of replica plane at Kansas museum

Engine and aircraft matched - photos Topeka Combat Air Museum — Engine and aircraft matched – photos Topeka Combat Air Museum

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A University of Kansas professor has used 3-D printers to design an engine for a Topeka museum’s replica of a World War I fighter plane.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that Huw Thomas, an associate professor of industrial design at the university, took on the project after the Topeka Combat Air Museum acquired an 80 percent replica of a De Havilland 2 World War I fighter plane about a year ago.

Three 3-D printers made dozens of parts with the same material as Lego bricks. Thomas used a substance similar to super glue to attach the pieces together.

The 3-D replica rotary engine was placed onto the back of the aircraft Wednesday. It weighed a few pounds and was about 3 feet across and 14 inches wide.