A scaled-down rocket engine smaller than a ₹1 coin

3D printed rocket engine model placed on a ₹1 coin.
| Photo Credit: Special arrangement

A 3D-printed, scaled-down model of a liquid propulsion rocket engine placed on a ₹1 coin is among the draws at a small exhibition that has opened alongside the two-day national conference on Emerging Vistas in Chemical Engineering (EVINCE 2025) here in the city.

The 3D-printed model is on display at the stall of Shree Rapid Technologies (SRT), Mumbai. The model has been created using a 3D printer of the U.S.-based Boston Micro Fabrication (BMF), of which SRT is the general partner in India. BMF printers can print feature sizes as small two microns, an SRT official said.

While the rocket engine model simply illustrates the capability of such 3D printers, small 3D printed parts actually find application in microelectromechanical and microfluidic systems. The two-day national conference, which is on at hotel Hyatt Regency, is being organised by the Indian Institute of Chemical Engineers (IIChE), Thiruvananthapuram chapter, and will conclude on Saturday.