Quote:
Originally Posted by watahyahknow
if you could 3d print it in wax and make a lost mould casting of it , it could be done but you need to take the schrinkage of the aluminium in consideration (make the wax mould a percentage bigger)
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Shrinkage rate for investment cast is 100.008% or that is the scale you need to compensate for when doing your print. I am 3D printing my intake manifold to have it investment cast. A head or a block is probably too big and too complicated to investment cast as your shrinkage ratios at that scale start to become non-linear, and good luck finding cheap access to a 3D printer that can print it...and it'd probably take weeks to print. Probably not a practical project. Even my manifold will need to be printed in at least 2, and maybe 3 pieces and then glued up (or actually melted together as I am going to print straight to wax).
An engine block and heads has all kinds of internal water jackets, lots of post cast machining, lots of blind passages that are difficult to get the casting medium out of, it's a lot more thought and a lot more complicated, and probably really needs to be done as sand cast, which means cores and all that.
If I was going to do a whole engine it'd probably be a V12, and would probably be a 60 degree so the math worked out, and probably use something like a Harley connecting rod to keep it as short as possible. But having to rely on others for this sort of thing means such a project would take insane amounts of money. Don't get me wrong designing an engine from the ground up is a dream of mine, just not a practical one.