Good morning AM: Design & Engineering

Is it morning in America—and the world—for additive manufacturing? That’s looking more and more likely. While AM, also known as 3D printing, is well-established as a process for making prototype parts, it’s making serious inroads into production—where the real money is.

AM appears to be much farther along for production applications now than it was even a few months ago. I say that in part to justify writing about AM again since focusing on it in my September Lead Angle. Normally, I don’t like to repeat topics that often, but I’m making an exception because of several game-changing events.

While many companies have been using 3D printing to make prototype parts, major manufacturers, including Airbus, General Electric and Siemens, are using it to develop high-value production parts. Siemens began making 100 types of spare parts and other gas turbine components via AM in January, reducing repair times by 90 percent in some cases, according to a report in the Financial Times, “3D printing reshapes the factory floor.”

In the report, Nicolas Vortmeyer, CTO for Siemens’ power generation division, said 3D printing could revolutionize the supply of spare parts. Typically, they are mass produced, stored and shipped. Instead, Siemens is printing them wherever they are needed.

Likewise, the aerospace industry is using 3D printing to make lighter parts with reduced material waste compared to traditional subtractive machining. For example, GKN, a U.K.-based automotive and aerospace parts maker, is developing a titanium bracket with Airbus that can be 3D-printed in 40 minutes compared to 4 hours via machining, while cutting material use by 30 percent, according to the report.

In North America, GE Aviation is ramping up to produce a key fuel injector nozzle via direct metal laser sintering for the LEAP jet engine it is co-developing for the Boeing 737 MAX and the Airbus A320neo aircraft. Each engine will contain 19 fuel nozzles, and GE plans to produce 100,000 of the parts by 2020.