Forged in Plastic and Precision: My Jet Engine Journey at Nitro Dynamics

When I was first offered the incredible opportunity to intern with Nitro Dynamics, I had no idea I was about to board one of the most intense, thrilling, and fulfilling projects of my life — designing and 3D printing a working aircraft engine, entirely from scratch.

Sounds crazy, right? It was.

This wasn’t just any model. It had to work. It had to spin. And more importantly, it had to be accurate — as if pulled straight out of an aerospace engineer’s sketchbook! The goal seemed simple in theory: design a functional prototype engine with a rotating spindle and visible stages. A piece that truly embodied the pinnacle of design and technology.

But the journey? I wish I could say it was simple.

The Grind Begins

Equipped with Fusion 360, my very own custom-built 3D printer, and a solid dream, I dove straight into the research and design phase. I spent hours — days — meticulously modelling each stage: compressor blades, turbine rotors, shaft, and casing. My biggest concern was getting the parts accurate enough to be printable on a consumer-grade printer without any major issues.

Easy? Not at all.

The first prints were truly disheartening. The compressor blades were far too loose to fit the spindle — like puzzle pieces from the wrong box. I had to go back to the drawing board and redesign several components.

And then, of course, my 3D printer decided to betray me.

Printer Wars: A Tale of Meltdowns and Miracles

You never really know your technology until you’re printing turbine blades at 3 AM with a deadline breathing down your neck. The nozzle clogged. The extruder skipped. The parts stopped adhering to the bed. It was like fighting the final boss in a video game — defeat one form, and it respawns stronger.

At one point, I completely disassembled the printer, recalibrated it, and rebuilt it from the ground up. And finally — it worked.

That excitement, however, was short-lived. A filament snap ruined a nearly perfect print. At that moment, I could’ve cried, staring at my now half-empty spool of filament.

But I persisted. I didn’t give up.

Eventually, I reached some kind of truce with the machine. I built up my patience and tolerance — and it rewarded me with prints that finally looked the way I had intended.

Bearing the Friction - No, Literally

With all my parts printed and fitting snugly, I ran a test spin.

Spoiler alert: it didn’t spin.

I had encountered a new enemy — friction. The spindle chafed against the housing, causing the engine to barely turn at all. A very quiet, but still pretty, failure.

My solution? Sleek, silky-smooth bearings I found lying around my workspace. I quickly remodelled the housing to accommodate these lifesavers — and just like that, I had (hopefully) defeated the final challenge.

When I gave it that first spin and watched the turbines blur into motion, it genuinely felt like I had just built magic.

The Final Result

After dozens of hours, failed prints, reworked designs, countless repairs, and a few engineering miracles, I finally held the completed assembly in my hands — a fully 3D-printed jet engine model with a smooth-spinning shaft, functional stages, and a beautiful housing that pulled everything together.

This wasn’t just a model. It was proof — of persistence, of learning, and of what you can achieve with the right mindset, hard work, and sheer determination.

What I learned

• Engineering isn’t about getting it right on the first try — it’s about learning, adapting, and working through problems one layer at a time.

• Friction is real — and so are the tiny components that solve massive issues.

• Your workspace isn’t a genie — nothing happens by magic. You need the drive, skill, and patience to care for your machines.

• And most importantly — a great idea is completely useless unless you’re willing to put it to use.

Thank you, Nitro Dynamics, for giving me this incredible opportunity to create something so immaculate. This one-month journey has taught me more than any classroom ever could — about engineering, critical thinking, problem-solving, and the joy of watching your hard work come to life.