Page 23 - 3D Metal Printing Spring 2016

manufacturing as engineers explore the use of 3D printing to lay down conductive materials for electrical circuits, create hous- ings for gallium-nitride transmitters and fabricate fins for guided artillery shells. The process enables rapid creation of designs and rapid alterations to be made as only the digital model of a part needs to be changed. As long as the part remains within parameters set by the 3D-printing process, new parts can be created in days instead of weeks, greatly shrinking the times and costs normally associated with R&D.
“You can design internal features that might be impossible to machine,” says Raytheon engineer Travis Mayberry, who is researching future uses of additive man- ufacturing and 3D printing, in a release detailing company efforts. “We’re trying new designs for thermal improvements and lightweight structures—things we couldn’t achieve with any other manu- facturing method.”
And the company lists other positives to the burgeoning process.
”When we print something, we have fewer piece parts, so the supply chain becomes simpler,” says Leah Hull, Raytheon additive manufacturing man- ager. “Development cycles become short- er; we are getting parts much faster. We can get much more complex with designs because we can design angles that can’t be machined into metal.”
Wherever the technology leads, its success will rely on dependable manufacturing.
“Ensuring consistent production integrity,” says Dr. Teresa Clement, a Raytheon materials expert, “will be part of the next steps in realizing this vision.”
At that point, “you could potentially have (3D printing) in the field,” adds Jere- my Danforth, a Raytheon engineer. “That’s the vision.”
But before there’s the ability to print a missile in the field, “we need quality-con- trolled processes to fabricate all the com- ponent materials: the metallic strongbacks, and the plastic connectors, the semicon- ductors for processors, and the energetics and propulsion systems,” Danforth con- tinues. “The hard part then is making the connections between these components.
An Airbus technician removes powder from a 3D-printed part. Airbus Group already has delivered what it claims to be the first 3D-printed spaceflight part, a titanium antenna- support bracket used aboard a satellite. At an Airbus division, Airbus Group Innovations, a team is exploring titanium powder, aluminum alloys, nickel and plastic as the raw materials for additive manufacturing. The goal is to obtain an inexpensive powder for production of vastly more parts. Photo courtesy of Airbus Group
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There are folks in industry printing war- heads. We are printing demos of many of the seeker components. And we demon- strated a printed rocket motor. We’ve already printed 80 percent of what would go into a missile.”
In the conference presentation, Ray- theon’s Dodds brought up an interesting point about the key role additive manufac- turing will play in meeting strategic needs in aerospace and defense. As concerns about technological superiority mount, pri- ority will be given to reduced cycle times, where more risk is accepted in exchange for speed. This vision bodes well for additive manufacturing, where its ability to shorten R&D time and quickly deliver workable pro- totypes and limited-run components and systems puts it in a leading-edge position among production processes.
Dodds also cited a National Research Council Report, Application of Light- weighting Technology to Military Vehicles, Vessels, and Aircraft, which stresses the use of additive manufacturing:
“The (Department of Defense) should establish broad manufacturing initia- tives...that encompass a variety of light- weighting strategies, materials and tech- nologies, with the goal of achieving quantum improvements in performance, affordability, sustainability and reliability. The manufacturing challenges to be addressed include joining technology, parts consolidation and miniaturization, tool-less fabrication of low-volume pro-
duction parts (using, for example, rapid prototyping/additive manufacturing and direct-material deposition technologies), improved nondestructive evaluation methods, and virtual process modeling.”
Airbus All-In on Space, Air Applications
Amy Glover, principal spacecraft struc- tures engineer for Airbus Defence and Space, noted that her company employed the world’s first additive-manufactured flight component in September 2011, a titanium upper bracket of an antenna- support structure. The part is still flying, aboard the broadcast satellite Eutelsat 7 West A. This has propelled the company into other additive-manufacturing appli- cations such as a titanium (via powder- bed laser melting) antenna foot bracket to be launched aboard a telecommuni- cations satellite in 2017.
Airbus Group currently is producing a number of flying plastic 3D-printed com- ponents and, as noted, has manufactured certified titanium parts. The group expects to produce layered aluminum and super- alloy parts. This process produces only 5 percent waste material, according to company officials. At an Airbus division, Airbus Group Innovations, a team is exploring titanium powder, aluminum alloys, nickel and plastic as the raw mate- rials for additive manufacturing. The goal is to obtain an inexpensive powder for production of vastly more parts.