Hanfa Changkong's 400kW-class turboshaft engine S4 debuts, with 60% of components printed by BLT.

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September 29, 2025 Applications 262

China's Hanfa Changkong announces its first 400kW-class S4 engine, with 60% of components 3D printed by BLT, marking a leap in domestic aviation propulsion.

On September 29, 2025, Hanfa Changkong officially announced the successful first assembly of its independently developed S4 engine, which incorporates innovations in aerodynamic structure and combustion technology. Bright Laser Technologies (BLT) utilized its BLT-S320, BLT-S450, BLT-S515, and BLT-S615 equipment to successfully print 60% of the engine's components, providing critical manufacturing support for its development. Through advanced additive manufacturing solutions, BLT contributed to enhancing the S4 engine's performance, reliability, and lightweight characteristics.

Founded in 2024, Jiangsu Hanfa Changkong Technology Co., Ltd. is a high-tech enterprise specializing in the R&D and manufacturing of general aviation engines. Led by a team of former senior designers from the Aero Engine Corporation of China, the company aims to become a global leader in providing power system solutions for general aviation. Hanfa Changkong targets the domestic civil low-to-medium altitude aviation power market, long dominated by international giants. Its first product is a 400kW-class modular core engine platform, which can be derived into turboshaft (for helicopters and multi-rotor aircraft), turboprop (for fixed-wing aircraft), and hybrid turbo-electric versions (for hVTOL), covering the power needs of 1.5- to 10-ton cargo UAVs, vertical take-off and landing aircraft, and hybrid-powered aircraft.

BLT's S-series equipment is suitable for diverse production needs, including combined manufacturing of large and medium-sized aerospace components, small-batch production of large parts, and rapid mass production of small parts across various applications. Leveraging specialized powder materials and strict quality control, BLT manufactured a range of critical components for the S4 engine, including the reducer, intake casing, diffuser, combustion chamber, and transition section.

For the exhaust casing structure, BLT's BLT-S450 equipment provided a mature manufacturing solution for integrated design. With a large build volume of 450mm × 450mm and multi-laser (4/6/8) coordination capabilities, the BLT-S450 enabled one-step formation of the casing’s expanding flow path, guide vanes, multiple probe mounts, and inspection ports. This not only reduced the manufacturing complexity associated with split welding and achieved structural weight reduction but also improved the exhaust efficiency of the power turbine, offering new technical insights for meeting the S4 engine’s high-performance requirements.

For the engine’s high-temperature transition section, which operates under extreme thermal loads, BLT selected the nickel-based superalloy material BLT-K438 for printing. This material offers excellent corrosion resistance, high-temperature strength, and microstructural stability, ensuring the integrated formation of the transition section and significantly extending its service life under high-temperature conditions. The component successfully passed the S4 engine’s installation assessment.

"As a leading domestic metal additive manufacturing enterprise, BLT has demonstrated outstanding technical capabilities, engineering experience, and quality standards. In the prototype development and critical component manufacturing for the S4 engine, BLT provided essential support, with its technical advantages strongly addressing our core needs for rapid iteration, performance enhancement, and complex structure manufacturing. Looking ahead, we expect to deepen cooperation in areas such as cost optimization, supply chain responsiveness, and more integrated co-design to jointly advance the development of domestic advanced civil aviation propulsion," commented a Hanfa Changkong customer.

The successful first assembly of the Hanfa Changkong S4 engine validates the feasibility of using additive manufacturing to produce critical aeroengine components. BLT will continue to refine its metal additive manufacturing technology system, leveraging diverse technical means to enhance batch production stability. By deepening collaboration across the industrial chain, BLT aims to jointly promote the broader application of additive manufacturing in high-end equipment fields such as aviation propulsion.