Watch This Mad Scientist Build a Working Fighter Jet Engine From Scratch Using Desktop Tools
If you've ever looked at a desktop 3D printer and thought, "I should probably print a Dungeons & Dragons miniature," you are thinking far too small. A mechanical engineer and popular YouTube creator behind the channel Skill Make just used everyday desktop fabrication tools to build a fully functional, thrust-producing jet engine right inside his home workshop.
And against all odds, it didn't blow up his house.
Building a micro-turbine is generally considered the absolute peak of the DIY mechanical engineering world. As the creator explains, "this is the exact 3D model of a jet engine you'd see in the actual airplanes, fighter jets, or even military drones".
To pull off the insane build, the engineer relied on the holy trinity of a modern maker space: a desktop CNC machine, a laser cutter, and a high-resolution resin 3D printer. The engine operates on the exact same thermodynamic principles as a commercial airliner —compression, combustion, and exhaust.
Using his desktop Makera CNC, he milled an aerospace-grade aluminum diffuser to guide the air. He then resin-printed the complex compressor wheel, fabricated a steel combustion chamber, and welded an intricate network of copper fuel lines to deliver the required propane-butane gas mixture.
The most daunting task, however, was surviving the heat. A jet engine is essentially a controlled continuous bomb, and the creator noted the immense difficulty of "finding an alloy that won't literally explode at 120,000 RPM in over 800°".
The Inconel Shortcut (and Why It's Necessary)
To keep the engine from melting into a puddle of radioactive slag, the creator utilized specialized ceramic ball bearings that expand gracefully under extreme heat. He also wrapped the combustion chamber in a highly risky, transparent quartz glass casing to show the internal fire off to the camera.
But there was one part he couldn't build himself: the rear turbine wheel.
Within the RC jet and micro-turbine builder community (which has been thriving since the legendary open-source "KJ66" engine design hit the internet in the 1990s), the turbine wheel is notoriously impossible to make at home. It sits in the absolute hottest part of the engine and spins at mind-boggling RPMs.
Instead of milling it, he ordered a pre-balanced, vacuum-cast superalloy wheel made of Inconel directly from AliExpress. Inconel 713c is the exact same nickel-chromium-based superalloy used in Formula 1 exhaust systems and SpaceX rocket engines because it magically retains its structural integrity at over 1,000°C.
Firing It Up
With the Inconel wheel installed and the engine lubricated, the build finally reached the finish line. "After 50 days from design to fabrication, everything is complete," he announced.
Naturally, firing up a homemade jet engine comes with a few speed bumps. "The first test didn't go well at all. The turbine wheel was rubbing against the housing," he admitted, forcing him to adjust the internal tolerances and install an electronic spark plug.
For the final run, he hooked up a high-powered electric blower to force air into the compressor, cranked the camping gas, and engaged the spark. The engine whined to life, shooting a brilliant, terrifying cone of blue and orange flame out of the exhaust nozzle as the thermal camera recorded temperatures skyrocketing past 700°C.
"And finally it fired up," he cheered over the deafening roar of the turbine.
While we highly recommend leaving jet propulsion to the professionals at Boeing and Lockheed Martin, it is undeniably awesome to know that with enough patience and a decent CNC machine, you can put a fighter jet on your desk.
