Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
Applications
Aerospace
3D printing is well suited for the aircraft industry for a number of reasons. Airplanes are
made in relatively small quantities, have hundred thousands or millions of parts and stay in
service for decades. It costs a lot to make molds for all the original parts and replacement
parts. A lot of expensive material is wasted in traditional aircraft manufacturing. In some
cases as little as five percent might remain in a final titanium alloy part after the processes of
casting, forging, cutting and polishing. In 3D printing, on the other hand, close to all of the
raw material might be utilized when parts are produced. By using 3D printing it is possible
to produce more lightweight parts, which is very important for aircrafts, since it reduces the
fuel consumption. Developers at Airbus claim that the weight of single components can be
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reduced by up to 70 percent by using 3D printing
General Electric's aviation unit produces jet engines for large aircrafts. Among other things
they 3D print fuel nozzles for their LEAP-1A jet engine. The nozzle which is printed in
one piece is 25% lighter and five times more durable than the 20-part traditional nozzle.
Another company, Pratt and Whitney, has invested millions of dollars in Electron Beam
Melting in order to produce parts for their Jet engines. In 2012 a team in China produced the
world's largest 3D printed airplane part at the time: a five meter long titanium alloy wing
spar. 3D printing has been used for China's commercial aircraft C919 as well as for the fight-
er planes J15, J20 and J31.
NASA is utilizing different 3D printing techniques for their space missions. The internation-
al Space Station (ISS) is equipped with a 3D printer for making spare parts and tools in zero
gravity. The ISS printer was made by the company Made in Space. An experiment with us-
ing a 3D printer for printing food on long duration space missions has also been undertaken
by NASA. The space agency further estimates that they will be able to cut costs of rocket
parts by 60 % or more by using 3D printing. NASA has hard tested 3D printed rocket parts
for use in their Space Launch System which is being developed to send space crafts with
crew to Mars and asteroid missions.
The European Space Agency has cooperated with architects Foster & Partners and a house
3D printer company Monolite Ltd. in a project which would use material available on the
moon to 3D print house structures for a future moon base. The lunar soil would be depos-
