Small-to-midsize hydro-electric power plants in inaccessible areas/landscapes, such as the Southern American Andes, are the specialty of Tushino Power Machine Tools. The implementation of customized hydro-electric power plants for midsize towns yields a +20% improvement in efficiency when compared to competitive off the shelf products.

SLA 3D printed master patterns deliver large size master patterns for turbine manufacturer

With the help of 3D Systems SLA industrial 3D printing, Tushino Power Machine Tools are able to turn their designs into a master pattern for casting while reducing the time and cost of producing turbines with a 150cm (39.4 inches) diameter used in customized hydro-electric power plants.

Each turbine with its blades is individually adapted to the water pressure, drop height and flow rate of the individual power plant project. At Tushino, a team of highly educated mathematicians take each of these key values and all environmental conditions into consideration to calculate the most efficient turbine design for each specific project.

Using the Accura 60 material, Tushino Power Machine Tools is then able to turn the design into a master pattern for casting. The Francis-style Turbine in the images has 14 turbine blades, a diameter of 150 cm (39.4 inches) and a capacity of 12 Megawatts. The QuickCast Stereolithography 3D printed master pattern is a pattern that weighs just 70 kg (154.3 lb), while the final cast model weighs 1990 kg (4387lb).