XPost: sci.space.policy, sci.physics, sci.electronics.design   
   From: tkoenig@netcologne.de   
      
   Jeff Findley  schrieb:   
      
   > If the "mass were already gone from the design" then GE would not be   
   > pouring literally millions of dollars into developing a one meter cubed   
   > 3D printer presumably for printing aircraft engine parts.   
      
   One nice thing about 3D printing is that you can create voids   
   in places you cannot with conventional technologies.   
      
   This can help a _lot_ when putting in cooling channels (wildly   
   important for turbine manufacturers who always fight for that extra   
   10 K of maximum temperature to get that extra bit of efficiency), or   
   when you can put in a void where you don't actually need material,   
   and all it would do would be to add mass and/or create thermal   
   stress on heating up or cooling down.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)