Adding to

Subtract – additive
manufacturing in
Aerospace & Defense
Key benefits and how additive manufacturing is taking off in A&D
The core technology behind additive pilot present in the cockpit and the smaller
manufacturing, at a basic level, is not a capacity of the vehicle. This was exemplified
new thing; in fact it’s been around for three by the recent 3D printed drone launch3, and
decades now. The principle stems from a the technology will certainly continue to play
computer design of the object that is sliced a role here in the production of faster and
into incredibly fine layers that are then printed lighter4 drones.
on top of each other from the bottom up to
produce the final product. However, despite
initially being conceived in the 1980s, recent
technological advances have brought this
Roadblocks to overcome
process from a novel and futuristic intrigue, to
a present day reality. Despite the advantages of additive
manufacturing in A&D, there are some
The demand for additive manufacturing is challenges that need to be addressed
growing: the global market is expected to before the technology can be adopted more
increase from $3.07bn in revenue in 2013 to widely across the industry. The nature of
$12.8bn by 2018, exceeding $21bn by 20201. the inherent risks associated with aviation
This is no more so apparent than in Aerospace makes it a highly regulated sector and this
and Defense (A&D) production and MRO impacts the speed at which 3D manufacturing
applications, which currently account for processes are being adopted. The technology
around 15% of the global market. So, what has drawn heavy scrutiny from regulators5
impact is additive manufacturing having on and manufacturers face a challenge in proving
A&D? Here, I look at some of the key benefits the safety of products produced by this new
to the industry and how the technology is process and gaining accreditation. Some of
being applied to solve challenges today. the areas regulators are keen to focus their
attention on over the next few years are how
printed products will behave over time and
based on the materials used, and it will be
Streamlined for speed interesting to see how the industry adopts
means to accelerate its adoption.
3D printing is helping manufacturers address
issues such as weight reduction and speed Nevertheless, A&D remains at the forefront
of production. The former of these is vital in of the take-off of additive manufacturing
Aerospace, as 1g on the ground is equivalent and despite the regulatory barriers, there
to around 40-50g in the air. With greater are already innovative uses demonstrating
efficiency and reduction in fuel usage high significant results.
on the agenda, every gram of weight saved
counts. The latter has a greater role to
play in MRO as the constant high pressure
placed on parts results in some components
Blades of glory - Hollow rotating
needing to be regularly replaced. The faster blades
this can be done, the less time aircraft fleets
spend grounded – an issue that is costing the Rotating or runner blades are one of the
industry vast sums of money. Airbus China2, most important components of rotary heat
for example, recently estimated the cost of a engines. It is in the moving stages that the
grounded A380 Airbus to be $1,250,000 every thermal energy is converted into kinetic
day. energy and thereby the motive power is
generated. The airfoil or outer part of the
In the Defense sector, reducing weight is also blade must be finely tuned in design, with
critical, with emphasis placed on achieving several aerodynamic considerations involving
lighter loads and vehicles, as well as reduced complex Computational Fluid Dynamics.
inventory at military bases. There is also All of this is geared towards providing
currently greater scope for the use of additive maximum thermal efficiency by optimizing
manufacturing in unmanned, rather than aerodynamics, while still meeting safety
manned, vehicles due to the reduced required requirements in strength and withstanding
safety parameters when there is no human vibration.
There are however, two key challenges to the lighter design airfoil has resulted in nearly
address to ensure this can be achieved. Firstly, a 30% reduction in weight for a major aircraft
in conventional manufacturing, machining manufacturer and around a 40% subsequent
is subtractive: meaning the material is reduction in reaction force.
gradually removed in shaping the design.
This imposes significant constraints on the In recent years, there has been a rapid
design when trying to achieve optimum levels rise in the recent adoption of additive
for these opposing variables of safety and manufacturing, in no small part due to its
aerodynamics because of the base process of uses in A&D. Despite regulatory hurdles to
production, the end-product is not optimized. overcome, significant cost and efficiency
benefits are being seen across the design
Secondly, blades’ aerodynamics must be and manufacturing lifecycle. Additive
optimized but, during operation, they are manufacturing is set to continue to have a
subjected to very high centrifugal and transformational impact on the A&D industry
pressure forces that result in a high level and it will be fascinating to see where the next
of stress that the design must be able to innovations come from.
withstand within the safety limits of the
material. The stages of aerodynamic design
and strength / vibrations tests are completely
independent of each other and must be
References
conducted one after the other. However, each
of these stages favours virtually the opposite
1
http://wohlersassociates.com/press65.html
preferences: the light-weight design is more
aerodynamic, but more likely to fail under
2
http://www.delivered.dhl.com/en/
strength and vibration stresses. articles/2014/02/aircraft-on-ground.html

Additive manufacturing addresses both

3
http://bgr.com/2015/11/12/drove-video-3d-
these issues. Firstly, it is, by definition, a printed-uav-flight/
procedure where components are shaped
by adding layers of material. This permits
4
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/drones-might-
much greater complexity when shaping the be-getting-smaller-3d-printing-technology-
aerodynamic design and makes it possible to can-make-them-faster-lighter-1498237
manufacture components with blind cavities,
in this case, hollow blades. This is impossible
5
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/bfab071c-
with traditional methods and unlocks new 6abc-11e4-a038-00144feabdc0.
opportunities and benefits that could not html#axzz3mTb7KQBT
previously be realised.

Looking at the second problem of stress

pressures, the centrifugal forces produced
by rotation have the greatest focus at the
base and almost zero at the tip. The pressure
loads are highest on the outer surfaces but
almost non-existent in the centre. Thus there
is plenty of scope to remove material from the
inner regions and nearer the tip of the blade
without compromising the blade’s safety
or strength. This weight reduction actually
further reduces the centrifugal force and
therefore the stress acting on the blade.

But aerodynamics is paramount, and

therefore the outer surfaces cannot be
compromised to preserve the original design
for high efficiency. Additive manufacturing
makes this win-win scenario possible. In fact,
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Updated January 2017