STELIA Aerospace, in partnership with Constellium, Ecole Centrale de Nantes, and CT Ingénierie, introduced a demonstrator for metallic self-reinforced fuselage panels, with stiffeners directly manufactured on the surface, through additive manufacturing. In the long term, this new technology could eliminate the current added stiffeners, which are attached to the fuselage panels with fixing screws and […]
By Joseph C. Benedyk, Editor. Introduction For decades, additive manufacturing (AM), also known as 3D printing (3DP), has grown and proliferated worldwide into a multibillion dollar industry encompassing many different technologies and types of materials. AM methods embody a group of emerging technologies that create a functional 3D object from any one of a variety […]
HRL Laboratories, LLC, developed technique for successfully 3D printing high-strength aluminum alloys — including Al7075 and Al6061 — which were previously not amenable to additive manufacturing. This opens the door to the additive manufacturing of engineering-relevant alloys for aircraft and automobile parts. Nanoparticle Functionalization Additive manufacturing of metals typically begins with alloy powders that are […]
Renishaw and Aeromet International Limited announced a collaboration to establish additive manufacturing process parameters and material properties for Aeromet’s A20X® aluminum alloy. The two companies will work together to optimize the processing techniques for the high-performance alloy on Renishaw metal additive manufacturing (AM) systems. They are also investigating a range of heat treatment regimes to deliver optimum […]
Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Rice University have developed a new manufacturing method that combines 3D printing with traditional casting in order to produce damage-tolerant components composed of multiple materials. The A356/316L composite components have showed a significantly greater damage tolerance than aluminum alone. “This scalable processing strategy can be used to fulfill specific component functions, giving […]
GE Additive is creating the world’s largest laser-powder additive manufacturing machine, which will be tailored for the aerospace industry. The machine will be able to 3D print in a “build envelope” of one meter cubed (1000 mm x 1000 mm x 1000 mm). “The machine will 3D print aviation parts that are one meter in diameter, suitable […]
Norsk Titanium AS received an order for 3D-printed titanium structural components from Boeing. The parts, which are being produced by the company’s proprietary Rapid Plasma Deposition (RPD™) process, are the first 3D-printed structural airplane components to to be approved by the FAA. It has been reported that the use of these 3D-printed components could eventually save Boeing up to $3 million […]
Sintavia, LLC, a leader in the metal additive manufacturing industry, developed full end-to-end parameters for producing 3D printed parts in F357 aluminum, as well as other Al-Si alloys, for use in precision manufacturing. The proprietary process for printing F357 aluminum powder was developed specifically to address aerospace and automotive industry needs for components with low […]
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) researchers partnered with industry partners and university students to design and produce the world’s first 3D-printed excavator as part of Project Additive Manufactured Excavator (AME), which will focus on using metal additive manufacturing to develop heavy construction machinery. The prototype will leverage large-scale additive manufacturing technologies and explore the feasibility of printing with metal […]
