The future of additive manufacturing in aeronautics

Additive manufacturing for aeronautical and space applications

Figure 1 - GKN Aerospace uses laser wire deposition for Vulcain 2 nozzles (Credit: ArianeGroup)

Figure 2 - Powder grains obtained by gas atomization (Credit Onera)

Figure 3 - Crucible-less induction melting system (Credit Onera)

Figure 4 - Use of Scalmalloy for an Airbus A320 door bulkhead 45% lighter than the previous bulkhead manufactured using conventional techniques (Credit Airbus).

Figure 5 - Weight reduction for an A320 nacelle hinge part (Credit Airbus)

Figure 6 - Design and manufacture, with the help of Adimant, of a large lattice structure satellite part (134 x 28 x 500 mm and 1.7 kg) (Credit Thalès Alenia Space)

Figure 7 - Use of pressure tapping ducts in a winglet for wind tunnel testing (Carnot PROMIS project) (Credit ONERA)

Figure 8 - Fuel injector developed by General Electric (Credit General Electric)

Figure 9 - RF filters manufactured by 3D Systems for telecommunications satellites (Credit Airbus Defence and Space)

Figure 10 - Parts of the 48-wing Trent XWB-97 engine, manufactured in titanium by EBM(Credit Rolls-Royce)

Figure 11 - Aluminium fuselage panel demonstrator with stiffeners manufactured by WAAM (Credit STELIA Aerospace)

Figure 12 - Potential applications of additive manufacturing for the GEnX engine (Credit General Electric)

Figure 13 - From left to right: Vinci engine hydrogen turbopump manifold, first part of the Prométhée engine: pump housing (Credit ArianeGroup), 3D printed copper engine part (Credit NASA).

Figure 14 - The SuperDraco engine&#039;s fully 3D-printed Inconel alloy engine chamber (Credit: SpaceX)

Figure 15 - Illustration of the largest part manufactured using the LBM technique for the Koreasat 5A and 7 telecommunications satellites (Credit Thalès Alenia Space).

Figure 16 - Development of a drone with a 3 m wingspan (Credit Aurora Flight Sciences)

Figure 17 - Example of turbine blade repair using laser cladding

Figure 18 - Main stages in the repair process

Figure 19 - Local microstructure modification possible by varying EBM parameters for IN718 alloy

Figure 20 - MELD solid-state process developed by Aeroprobe Corporation

Figure 21 - Hybrid LBM &#43; DED manufacture of a Nimonic 263 part from the Falafel project; Ni-based hot/cold air mixer (height 650 mm) (Credit Dassault Aviation)