The world wants 3D printing manufacturing! - 3D Printing: The Basics and Beyond - page 114

Companies that use 3D printing in manufacturing

There are some big companies that are known for using 3D printing in parts manufacturing.

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Boeing's 787 Dreamliner includes thirty 3D printed parts such as hinges and air ducts .

Airbus uses 3D printed plastic and metal brackets in the A300/A310 and A350 XWB air-

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crafts . At Euromold 2014 an Airbus representative claimed that the company will be man-

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ufacturing up to 30 tons of 3D printed parts per month by 2018 . The RAF Tornado Jets

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produced by BAE Systems have a few 3D printed non-critical metallic parts . General

Electric started using 3D printing for prototyping over 20 years ago and has recently inves-
ted large sums in additive manufacturing for use in their production. They use 3D printed
fuel nozzles in their LEAP jet engine.

Automotive is still lagging behind aerospace in 3D printed end-use parts. However, many
concept cars and small batches of sports cars such as GT by Citroën [lix] , Koenigsegg One:1

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and Rezvani Beast used 3D printed parts for interior parts, bumpers, dashboards, exhaust

tips etc. Then there are 3D printed concept cars like the Urbee 2 and the Strati. More than
50 percent, around 50 parts of the Urbee 2 are 3D printed. Local Motor's Strati was created
through an online design competition and was first produced at the International Manufac-
turing Technology Show in Chicago in 2014. The Strati was printed, using BAAM techno-
logy, in a record-breaking 44 hours (the Urbee 2 took 2500 hours).

Siemens energy division uses 3D printing for some lesser turbine parts, spare parts and re-
pairing, but is hoping to expand its 3d printing manufacturing and use it for turbine blades in
the future [lxi] . Nike 3D prints specially designed football cleats for some of their shoes used
by elite American football players, in order to make them run faster. The cleat design could
in this case be optimized and customized for each athlete. In 2013 Brooks launched Glycerin
11 and Adrenaline GTS 14, running shoes where the upper parts are 3D printed on a mesh
with liquid polymer in 15 to 18 layers for reduced seams and a more dynamic fit.

Widex, Siemens and Phonak are market leaders in the hearing aid industry and they all use
3D printing for end use products, while Align Technology and Sirona Dental are the big
names who use 3D printing in dental applications.