Got a 3D printer? Could design a spherical hub with external splines and a
split pulley to fit around the hub. The splines on the hub would have to be
tapered so the pulleys can tilt.Would be something interesting to try with
fairly loose tolerances on an FDM printer for prototyping the pulleys.
A higher resolution technology would have to be used for a production use part.
One of the coolest uses I've come across for 3D printing is new exhaust stacks
for the engine in a P-51D Mustang. The WW2 originals were made of four pieces
of stainless steel with about 3 feet of hand welding. The exhaust thrust adds 3
to 4 knots to the plane's speed.
The article I read showed that 2 stacks have been made with laser sintered
stainless steel powder. An original was 3D scanned then smoothed to get rid of
rough spots from the welds. They seem to improve efficiency, in a picture of
the plane running, with the new stacks on the front two cylinders on the left
bank, there's no visible flame from them, nut there is from all the others. At
$1,000+ an hour operating cost to fly a warbird, any improvement in efficiency
is a big deal. For P-51 owners not super concerned with originality, the
exhaust stack design could be optimized not only for best flow but also to
produce more thrust.
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