{"id":65341,"date":"2025-07-10T16:00:31","date_gmt":"2025-07-10T14:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/?p=65341"},"modified":"2025-07-09T21:28:18","modified_gmt":"2025-07-09T19:28:18","slug":"a-3d-printed-micro-turbojet-takes-to-the-skies-in-china-100720254","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/a-3d-printed-micro-turbojet-takes-to-the-skies-in-china-100720254\/","title":{"rendered":"A 3D Printed Micro Turbojet Takes to the Skies in China"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"621\" data-end=\"961\"><strong>The Aero Engine Corporation of China (AECC)<\/strong> has announced the successful maiden flight of its <strong>3D-printed micro turbojet<\/strong> <strong>engine<\/strong>, a first for the Chinese aerospace sector. Named <strong>Minimalist Lightweight Micro Turbojet<\/strong>, the engine was tested in the <strong>Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region<\/strong> in northern China.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"963\" data-end=\"989\">AECC Performance Claims<\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"991\" data-end=\"1305\">\n<li data-start=\"991\" data-end=\"1024\">\n<p data-start=\"993\" data-end=\"1024\"><strong data-start=\"993\" data-end=\"1015\">Maximum thrust:<\/strong> 160 kg;<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"1025\" data-end=\"1065\">\n<p data-start=\"1027\" data-end=\"1065\"><strong data-start=\"1027\" data-end=\"1050\">Altitude:<\/strong> 4,000 meters;<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"1066\" data-end=\"1179\">\n<p data-start=\"1068\" data-end=\"1179\"><strong>Technology:<\/strong> 3D printing (process not officially specified, but most likely <a href=\"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/direct-metal-laser-sintering100420174-2\/\">laser powder bed fusion<\/a>);<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"1180\" data-end=\"1232\">\n<p data-start=\"1182\" data-end=\"1232\"><strong data-start=\"1182\" data-end=\"1196\">Software:\u00a0<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/topology-optimisation140820184\/\">Topological optimization<\/a> used<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"1180\" data-end=\"1232\">\n<p data-start=\"1182\" data-end=\"1232\"><strong data-start=\"1235\" data-end=\"1246\">Weight:<\/strong> significantly reduced thanks to additive manufacturing<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div id=\"attachment_90258\" style=\"width: 710px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-90258\" class=\"size-full wp-image-90258\" src=\"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/AECC.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"400\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-90258\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The micro turbojet engine created by additive manufacturing<\/p><\/div>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\">Strategic Interest in Additive Manufacturing<\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Additive manufacturing is becoming a major asset for the aerospace sector. Its advantages include:<\/p>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li><strong>Reduced component weight,<\/strong> essential in aerospace;<\/li>\n<li><strong>Design of complex geometries,<\/strong> impossible to produce with traditional processes;<\/li>\n<li><strong>Shorter production cycles,<\/strong> with finer digital control;<\/li>\n<li><strong>Optimization of operating costs<\/strong>\u00a0through overall weight reduction and functional integration.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\">International Context and Competition<\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Similar projects are underway in other countries, notably in the United States, where several initiatives are aimed at integrating 3D printing into rockets, satellites and VTOL aircraft. The market is growing fast, with increasing global competition.<\/p><div class=\"dnati-inside-article-leaderboard\" style=\"text-align: center;\" id=\"dnati-1171429728\"><a data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/app.swapcard.com\/login\/event\/additiv-defense-2026\/ticket\/VGlja2V0VHlwZV83MDM4MQ==\/page\/UmVnaXN0cmF0aW9uRm9ybV81NjE4Ng==\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"a2t-link\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"LB\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/LB.gif\" alt=\"\"  width=\"850\" height=\"150\"   \/><\/a><\/div>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\">A Strategic Statement from AECC<\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">AECC has not released details of the materials used or the exact process, but the organization claims that this maiden flight:<\/p>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li>Lays a solid <strong>technical foundation<\/strong> for the future development of advanced engines;<\/li>\n<li>Confirms the <strong>potential of 3D printing<\/strong> for <strong>drones, aviation platforms<\/strong> and <strong>clean energy systems;<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Represents a milestone in China&#8217;s national aerospace strategy.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">What do you think of the first flight by the AECC? <span class=\"color_11 wixui-rich-text__text\">Let us know in a comment below or on our\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/4987104\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">LinkedIn<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0or\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/3Dnatives\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">pages! Plus, don\u2019t forget to sign up for our free weekly\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/3d-printing-newsletter\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Newsletter<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0to get the latest 3D printing news straight to your inbox. You can also find all our videos on our\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCMWrNpdLOXa7BffRKXZoaZw\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">YouTube<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0channel.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6}\">\u00a0For more 3D printing news in the aerospace and defense sectors, check out our dedicated page\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/aerospace-and-defense-3d-printing\/\">HERE<\/a>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><em>*All Photo Credits: Sina<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Aero Engine Corporation of China (AECC) has announced the successful maiden flight of its 3D-printed micro turbojet engine, a first for the Chinese aerospace sector. Named Minimalist Lightweight Micro Turbojet, the engine was tested in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6114,"featured_media":65342,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[120,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-65341","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aerospace","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65341","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6114"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=65341"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65341\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":65698,"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65341\/revisions\/65698"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/65342"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65341"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=65341"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=65341"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}