Satair, an Airbus services company, has successfully delivered a metal 3D printed flying spare part to an airline customer.
First time we heard about the Airbus firm, it was partnering with Fast Radius to ensure the maintenance of another part. This time is different as the additive fabrication of this component was held at the Reference Manufacturing shop in Airbus Filton.
The part was obsolete and no longer available at the original supplier’s facility. Installed in four different versions – starboard, port, upper and lower, these parts are the A320ceo wingtip fences.
For Satair, using additive manufacturing would have reduced the likelihood of an AOG (Aircraft on ground) for this specific aircraft. On the other hand, it would have led to an increased flexibility in part production while meeting the same high quality standards ensured by EASA Form1 certification.
Before using Additive Manufacturing, the engineering team at Satair explored the use of conventional manufacturing processes. The company’s ultimate goal was to reduce investment costs to replace the moulds for individual orders. However, assessment of these methods shows that the resulting cost and lead-time implications were not competitive when redesigning the part for machining technology.
Felix Hammerschmidt, HO Additive Manufacturing Satair, explained: “We received an order for replacement parts and our AOG procurement department turned to the Additive Manufacturing (AM) team for a solution. After a short pre-assessment, the part was handed over to the RapidSpares design offices at Airbus. Using a new certification process they were able to re-certify the former cast part within five weeks and adapt it to titanium, which is a qualified airworthy additive manufacturing material”. He added: “The lead time for certification is expected to reduce even further in the future once the technology becomes more of a standard.”
Manufacturing the A320ceo part
Following the part’s qualification last year, the global supplier of aircraft parts can now produce this part on a regular basis.
At the technical level, the company explained that four components (full shipset for one aircraft) are printed simultaneously in a build job, which takes 26 hours, to reduce the cost per piece and the printing time per part. The various post-processing steps carried out at the end of the manufacturing enable to achieve a part with safety requirements that are similar to the conventional part. The new part is then delivered with an EASA Form 1 certification approval.
Bart Reijnen, CEO of Satair, added: “Satair is leading the way in providing additive manufactured parts for the aviation aftermarket and we currently have more than 300 part numbers certified for the technology covering every Airbus aircraft family type including tools and Ground Support Equipment. With more than 7,000 A320ceo Family aircraft in service worldwide, the demand for this specific additive manufactured part is likely to increase and with this Additive Manufacturing supply chain now in place, we will be able to produce these parts within a shorter lead-time. Four more customers have already requested that same part following this successful delivery.“
He added: “We have already identified more titanium parts for which Additive Manufacturing could as well become a more economical way of production, with higher flexibility and shorter lead times.”
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