Re:Plane crashed after 3D-printed part collapsed
by K0balt on Thursday December 04, 2025 @08:39PM
(#46155863)
Thermoplastic is the problem here. There are plenty of thermoset and other kinds of plastics that handle heat well and don’t soften with heat in normal ranges. 3d printed thermoplastics typically need to be liquid at <300 C so the glass transition usually is closer to 200 or even less. Definitely not suitable for the engine bay.
[1] It's not clear what the source of the heat was or where this was in the motor enclosure. But yeah, one needs to be careful with structural plastic near running engines!