The Fan Case Mount Ring (FCMR) will join the growing list of applications that can be serially produced through additive manufacturing. The transition from the initial production phase to 100% serial production is evolving surely as GKN Aerospace is already delivering at volume from its Trollhättan facility, in Sweden, with output set to ramp up from around 30 units per month today to 40 per month by year-end.
For those who are not familiar with it, FCMR is a critical component at heart of Pratt & Whitney GTF engine powering Airbus’ A220 and Embraer E195-E2.
Current results and material-saving targets
With the additively manufactured FCMR now in serial production, and key additive insertion activities for GE Aerospace now also underway, current results demonstrate around 40% material waste reduction per part compared to traditional manufacturing methods. In the future, GKN Aerospace expects to achieve more than 70% material savings. It also expects to reduce end-to-end lead times from nine months to as little as four weeks.
“This is a turning point for aerospace manufacturing. With the FCMR programme at industrial scale, we are proving not just the technical capabilities of additive fabrication, but its real-world impact on sustainability, lead time and cost as well as bringing predictability to our supply chain. Our recent achievements underline GKN Aerospace’s leadership in developing and certifying advanced fabrication technologies for next-generation engines – and this is just the start for this transformative technology,” Joakim Andersson, President Engines, GKN Aerospace, said.
Earlier this year, GKN Aerospace marked its 200th delivery of an additively fabricated ‘hot size ring’, the core structure of the FCMR, to its Newington facility, in the USA, for final machining. The company is on track to deliver run rate volumes to support the increasing market demand of the GTF engine for the Airbus 220 and Embraer 195-E2.
This ramp-up follows GKN Aerospace’s $50 million investment in 2024 to expand its sustainable additive fabrication capability.
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