Page 28 - ADT NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2022 Online Magazine

ufacturing for naval applications. South Korea
is also working to make 3D printing the norm in
defence; Korea Aerospace Industries’ next-gen-
eration fighter aircraft - KF-21 Boramae – will
have some additively manufactured compo-
nents. Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction
is supplying 3D components of the jet’s air cir-
culation system. Meanwhile, 3D printed antenna
firm Optisys has signed a deal with LIG Nex1 to
design, develop and manufacture advanced
metal 3D printed antenna systems for defence
and aerospace.

CASHING IN

The push by militaries the world over to exploit
the potential of 3D printing has been well sup-
ported by the defence industry. In September,
Boeing Additive Manufacturing (BAM), the addi-
tive manufacturing arm of the company, officially
inaugurated its 3D printing center in Auburn, © U.S. Army
Washington. The facility, which opened for
business without fanfare during the pandemic, Lockheed Martin has also invested heavily in AM development and
designs and manufactures tools and parts for uses 3D printed parts on many of its platforms. At the 2019 Paris Air
commercial aircraft, helicopters, spacecraft, Show, Lockheed Martin signed a contract with Premium AEROTEC
and satellites using 3D printing technology. to explore ways to implement 3D printing technology into the F-35
Boeing is the leader in two projects for the US Lightning II Programme. According to the company, 3D printing of
Department of Defence manufacturing inno- parts has helped the company substantially reduce the cost of
vation institute (LIFT) Hypersonics Challenge. the F-35 flight simulators. The American defence giant has also
invested in a dedicated Additive Design and Manufacturing Center
In January this year, Boeing announced that it (ADMC) in California, besides opening a 3D printing lab in Denver.
had developed the first 3D-printed, flight-crit- The company has chosen metal additive manufacturing technology
ical component used in rotorcraft. According to company Velo3D’s end-to-end additive manufacturing solution for
the company, the additively manufactured part, the ADMC.
an additive-manufactured transmission hous-
ing, took flight in multiple successful Chinook Northrop Grumman, which has been using AM technologies since
tests The company believes that additive man- 2005, uses about 5,000 3D-printed parts altogether in our air vehi-
ufacturing can help bring down component cles. GE Additive specializes in developing Powder Bed Fusion (PBF)
costs and component weight, besides enabling machines for the additive manufacturing of metal parts. The com-
production of spare parts in the field, and not pany collaborated with the U.S. Air Force to produce a 3D printed
in a factory alone. sump cover for the F110 engine. The three processes GE offers with in
the PBF category include Direct Metal Laser Melting (DMLM), Electron
In March this year, the aerospace conglom- Beam Melting (EBM), Binder Jetting. GA Aviation has produced more
erate announced that it had begun using 3D than 23,500 flight quality additive parts to date.
printing to increase the speed of production
of a Wideband Global SATCOM or ‘WGS’ sat- Another company that is extensively using AM technologies is military
ellite, which has greater mission support and drone maker General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI).
anti-jamming capabilities than its predeces- In September, the company established a Center of Excellence for
sors, for the US Space Force. By 3D printing its Additive Design and Manufacturing (AD&M). The company has
parts, the company expects to reduce the over the past decade added AM technologies in a phased manner,
satellite’s lead time from up to ten years to leading to the setting up of a dedicated AM department in 2017.
five. Boeing has also partnered with the US Air According to the company, the use of about 240 3D printed parts
Force Research Laboratory and Thermwood to on the MQ-9B helped it save over US$2 million in tooling costs and
3D print aerospace autoclave tools capable of over US$300,000 per aircraft in recurring costs. More than 10,000
cost-effectively adapting to iteration. additively manufactured components have been installed by the
company on the aircraft that it has produced so far.

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