AI
| Followers | 9 |
| Posts | 1597 |
| Boards Moderated | 1 |
| Alias Born | 01/27/2014 |
Thursday, January 11, 2018 11:39:19 PM
The Future Of Additive Manufacturing In MRO
At mro-network.com - The Future Of Additive Manufacturing In MRO - Jan 11, 2018
MOVING TO METAL
Additive manufacturing applications are increasing across all layers of the supply chain. GE Aviation has said the technology could cut costs by one-fifth and development time by half for its new Advanced Turboprop Program (ATP). The manufacturer plans to build one-third of the new engine’s parts via 3D printing. Using a 1-m (3.3-ft.) powder bed, GE is also seeking to further incorporate additive manufacturing into the in-production Leap engine, which already features 3D-printed fuel nozzles.
Rolls-Royce is also pushing considerable resources into the technology. It passed a major milestone in 2015 when it printed a 1.5-m-wide front bearing housing for the Trent XWB engine. Printed from titanium, the housing incorporated 48 vanes that were printed separately using EBM machines. To establish a business case for future applications, one of the goals of the project was to maximize the amount of titanium powder that could be reused.
____________________________________________________________________
The additively manufactured exhaust case of GE’s Advanced Turboprop Program engine. One-third of the engine’s parts will be created via additive manufacturing.
Widespread AM adoption for metal parts will follow, Hodgson believes, as the technology is perfected within aviation and with input from other industries.
“Over the last three years, the space industry has been critically pushing qualification of structural metal components, such as satellite brackets that deliver 25% lighter weight, increased tensile strength and significantly reduced production times. This same thing will happen in commercial aviation, but due to higher volumes and more stringent qualification requirements, this will take some time to develop,” he adds.
Eventually, Hodgson thinks that increasing take-up of additive manufacturing by airlines and MRO providers will drive interior manufacturers to design parts with the technology in mind, creating a feedback loop that “requires AM as a core competency, not just a niche application.”
At mro-network.com - The Future Of Additive Manufacturing In MRO - Jan 11, 2018
MOVING TO METAL
Additive manufacturing applications are increasing across all layers of the supply chain. GE Aviation has said the technology could cut costs by one-fifth and development time by half for its new Advanced Turboprop Program (ATP). The manufacturer plans to build one-third of the new engine’s parts via 3D printing. Using a 1-m (3.3-ft.) powder bed, GE is also seeking to further incorporate additive manufacturing into the in-production Leap engine, which already features 3D-printed fuel nozzles.
Rolls-Royce is also pushing considerable resources into the technology. It passed a major milestone in 2015 when it printed a 1.5-m-wide front bearing housing for the Trent XWB engine. Printed from titanium, the housing incorporated 48 vanes that were printed separately using EBM machines. To establish a business case for future applications, one of the goals of the project was to maximize the amount of titanium powder that could be reused.
____________________________________________________________________
The additively manufactured exhaust case of GE’s Advanced Turboprop Program engine. One-third of the engine’s parts will be created via additive manufacturing.
Widespread AM adoption for metal parts will follow, Hodgson believes, as the technology is perfected within aviation and with input from other industries.
“Over the last three years, the space industry has been critically pushing qualification of structural metal components, such as satellite brackets that deliver 25% lighter weight, increased tensile strength and significantly reduced production times. This same thing will happen in commercial aviation, but due to higher volumes and more stringent qualification requirements, this will take some time to develop,” he adds.
Eventually, Hodgson thinks that increasing take-up of additive manufacturing by airlines and MRO providers will drive interior manufacturers to design parts with the technology in mind, creating a feedback loop that “requires AM as a core competency, not just a niche application.”
Join the InvestorsHub Community
Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.
