Jun 6, 2015 | By Simon
Although we’ve seen just how much of an impact 3D printing has had (and continues to have) on various industries ranging from consumer product design and engineering to architecture and 3D bioprinting, one of the more technologically-advanced sectors that’s been increasingly adopting 3D printing into their manufacturing processes is the aerospace industry.
Among other reasons for the increased adoption rate include the ability to create high-strength parts at relatively low quantities - which, for many smaller manufacturers, can relieve the financial burden of creating expensive tooling that is designed for creating thousands of parts when only a few dozen parts might be needed, among other reasons. Thanks to some new research from Northwestern University, it looks like there are yet even more reasons for the aerospace industry to consider using 3D printing to create their parts.
Led by Professor of Materials and Manufacturing at Northwestern’s McCormick School of Engineering Eric Masanet, a team of researchers at the Illinois school have confirmed that when it comes to aerospace manufacturing, fabricating metal parts using 3D printing technologies not only helps manufacturers save money, but it also contributes towards saving other resources such as fuel usage that could have a significant impact on the environment.
While 3D printed metal parts are already being used by both airplane and helicopter manufacturers, the impact of their usage has still been an open question. Using existing aircraft industry data, the team was able to complete a case study of the lifecycle environmental effects of using these 3D printed metal parts. Among other significant conclusions drawn by the team include that when 3D printing is used in the creation of metal parts, manufacturing waste and total part weight drop dramatically. The result is both fuel and money saved - which ultimately also leads to a decrease in carbon emissions.
“The airline industry is an early adopter of 3D printing,” said Masanet, “the main driver is that aircrafts require specialized lightweight metal alloys that can be very costly to process.”
While traditional manufacturing methods - such as metal casting - can be wasteful, using 3D printing not only dramatically cuts down on unused material but it also opens the door for more efficient designs by nature of the additive manufacturing process.
“We have suboptimal designs because we’re limited by conventional manufacturing,” Masanet said. “When you can make something in layer-by-layer fashion, those constraints diminish.”
Although the conclusions drawn from the study prove that 3D printing parts is beneficial, it is unlikely that larger components such as fuselage panels and wings will be created using additive manufacturing techniques anytime soon. Masanet believes that among the first parts - aside from what is already being produced - will be brackets, hinges, seat buckles and cabin furnishings.
“There are enough parts that, when replaced, could reduce the weight of the aircraft by 4 to 7 percent,” Masanet said. “And it could be even more as we move forward. This will save a lot of resources and a lot of fuel.”
Considering the amount of wasted material and energy that comes as a side effect of traditional manufacturing techniques alone, it won’t be a surprise when airplane manufacturers announce that they are switching over to additive manufacturing processes for the bulk of their parts - however Masanet notes that we’ll need to improve upon our existing 3D printing processes in order to realize the full potential.
“If we can accelerate the necessary process improvements, then we can start reaping these savings sooner,” he adds. “Maybe then we can start seeing savings 10 years earlier than if we just let the technology progress at its regular rate.”
Posted in 3D Printing Applications
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