In aircraft, additive manufacturing is becoming a best-practice for maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) operations, especially for legacy in-service planes such as B-52s, Jeff DeGrange, vice president of direct digital manufacturing for Stratasys, said in an interview with Design News. AM is being used for making small parts, such as a knob that shuts off airflow, since for many legacy planes there are no more spare parts available and suppliers are often no longer in business.
Paramount, a 3D Systems company, has made several parts for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter using its high-temperature laser sintering (HTLS) process, general manager Jim Williams, told us. Last December, Paramount delivered a machine and materials solution, including a database, to Northrop-Grumman, which redesigned its existing F-35 parts to fashion them for HTLS.
Paramount, a 3D Systems company, has made several non-structural flight hardware parts for Air Force fighter jets using its high-temperature laser sintering (HTLS) process. Shown here are a PEEK carbon fiber composite air duct (top), and technology demonstration parts (bottom) made of PEEK carbon fiber (black) and an unfilled PEEK (yellow).
At the end of June, Paramount delivered the first real parts using this technology, and is now refining its manufacturing capabilities to scale up and go into production. "We anticipate getting parts onto the first aircraft in August 2013," said Williams. "After that, there will be incremental increases with low rate initial production. The eventual goal is to manufacture five aircraft a week." A total of 900 F-35 parts have been specified for production via AM.
Manufacturers of UAVs are using 3D laser sintering processes to make lightweight engine housings, cowlings, nacelles, ducts, fuel tanks, and entire fuselages. AM techniques let the vehicle or its payload be quickly customized or repurposed from one mission to the next.
Paramount has manufactured parts for QinetiQ's Talon and Honeywell's T-Hawk UAVs. What makes HTLS different is the material: it can be processed at 380C, much higher than nylon. It's naturally non-flammable and doesn't outgas, so it's also used in space applications. "Northrop is concerned about lightning strikes, and their AM materials had to be able to carry a charge through them, so much of our testing was on electrical properties," said Williams.
The company is also working on sintering chopped carbon fibers, not long fibers, for nanocomposites. Laser sintering polyaryl ether ketones (PAEKs) produces temperature resistance, mechanical performance, resistance to hydrolysis, and flame retardant characteristics, making the materials especially useful for aerospace applications. The carbon-fiber-reinforced PAEKs offer additional electrostatic dissipative characteristics and higher tensile modulus.
Another project aimed at sintering carbon composites for volume aerospace production is Stratasys's joint development initiative with the US Department of Energy (DOE) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The goals are to develop carbon fiber-reinforced FDM feedstocks and create in-process inspection methods, such as in-situ tests and close-loop controls, to assure part quality.
Meanwhile, University of Exeter engineers have combined SLS with aluminum powders to make cheaper 3D aluminum metal matrix composite (MMC) aircraft components. The materials and production method will enable lightweight parts such as pistons, drive shafts, and suspension components for airplanes.
UAV makers like the ability to do short full-production runs that would cost too much with other methods, as well as being able to quickly make design changes. Laser sintering can make hollow parts and thinner wall sections than injection molding.
Nice indepth account of how 3D printing is really changing the game when it comes to creating production parts from a wide variety of materials and in a much shorter time span. Beyond the implications in the aerospace applications you mentioned, Ann, the experimentation going on to use less expensive and more portable 3D printers in army applications, in the field, as a means of helping troops with extra parts they need or more significantly medical care is really exciting.
Thanks, Beth. The DoD's desire to make 3D printing accessible and useful for soldiers is apparently one of the main forces behind the formation of NAMII, the additive manufacturing initiative/consortium we covered: http://www.designnews.com/author.asp?section_id=1392&doc_id=251513
Seems like the dual forces of interest from the DoD and the commercial business sector could do a lot to advance the cause of 3D printing and additive manufacturing well beyond where it is today. Couple that with all the activity on the consumer front and you've got the real makings of a market.
I agree--the fact that 3D printing, in all its variety, is now on the radar of so many people and organizations bodes well, as does the spread of machines, and more and more materials, across the different market segments.
I really like the new materials. that's been my fascination with 3D printing thus far. The software advancements are good, but the materials determine what you can make. Wonder what's next?
One more thought. One thing that comes to mind to me, being an ex-machinist is the precision i.e. tolerances they can hold. I am betting they get better at that. You can print something all day long with whatever material, but if you can't hold certain tolerances then it isn't good for precision work.
I agree about tight tolerances. The fact that this technology is being used in commercial aircraft and medical applications speaks volumes about its success in achieving consistent, repeatable, very tight tolerances.
That person would still need machining knowledge. At least knowledge of the measuring tools. I can see it as a trade school thing. Now instead of going for machining you go for 3D printing. I might be wrong, but it seems possible.
Ann, I just wanted to say. I know I go on and on about this 3D printing, but it just fascinates me to no end. We talked just a few months ago about materials and they are already here. Like you said, it's progressing very fast. I'm just really interested in this.
New versions of BASF's Ecovio line are both compostable and designed for either injection molding or thermoforming. These combinations are becoming more common for the single-use bioplastics used in food service and food packaging applications, but are still not widely available.
The 100-percent solar-powered Solar Impulse plane flies on a piloted, cross-country flight this summer over the US as a prelude to the longer, round-the-world flight by its successor aircraft planned for 2015.
GE Aviation expects to chop off about 25 percent of the total 3D printing time of metallic production components for its LEAP Turbofan engine, using in-process inspection. That's pretty amazing, considering how slow additive manufacturing (AM) build times usually are.
A $1,500, hand-operated, bench-model, plastic injection machine crowdsource-funded via Kickstarter can be used to mold small, quality, plastic parts inexpensively, on demand.
The federal government is launching competitions to kickstart three more manufacturing innovation institutes, including one focused on Lightweight and Modern Metals Manufacturing Innovation.
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