Additive Manufacturing In Aerospace: Strategic Implications

Aerospace manufacturers have used Additive Fabrication Systems since ’80s. But in the past few years, rapid advancements in Additive Fabrication Technology have led applications of the technology in the aerospace industry to proliferate.

Additive Manufacturing formerly occupied a niche role in aerospace manufacturing as a technology for prototyping. As recent developments suggest, however, Additive Technology is rapidly becoming a strategic technology that will generate revenues throughout the aerospace supply chain.

Firms that are already committed to shifting the strategic dynamics of Additive Manufacturing in Space and Defense Markets include: Airbus, Boeing, Honeywell, Lockheed Martin, and Pratt & Whitney.

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Additive Fabrication of UAS: Commercial Outlook for a New Industry

Major parts of UAVs have traditionally been assembled from components made of molded plastic, but the development of Additive Fabrication presents the option of printing UAV parts instead: The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is using Additive Fabrication Technology to develop UAV prototypes that may someday be used to explore the surface of Mars, and The Pentagon has developed an Additive Manufacturing Strategic Roadmap to get customized UAVs. Now, some new technologies and pending federal regulations are enabling the manufacture and use of UAVs in domestic commerce, giving rise to a growing commercial UAV industry.

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The Additive Manufacturing Revolution

Additive Manufacturing (AM) doesn’t offer anything like that economy of scale. However, it avoids the downside of standard manufacturing: a lack of flexibility. Because each unit is built independently, it can easily be modified to suit unique needs or, more broadly, to accommodate improvements or changing fashion. And setting up the production system in the first place is much simpler, because it involves far fewer stages. That’s why Additive Fabrication has been so valuable for producing one-offs such as prototypes and rare replacement parts.

Additive Fabrication Technology is at a tipping point, about to go mainstream in a big way: Among the numerous companies using Additive Technology to ramp up production are GE (jet engines, medical devices, and home appliance parts), Lockheed Martin and Boeing (aerospace and defense), Aurora Flight Sciences (UAVs), Invisalign (dental devices), Google (consumer electronics), and the Dutch company LUXeXcel (lenses for light-emitting diodes, or LEDs). Regarding UAVs, in Iraq and Afghanistan the U.S. military has been using UAVs from the Aurora Flight Sciences company, which prints the entire body of these UAVs —some with wingspans of 132 feet—in one build.

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Additive manufacturing in UAVs: Challenges and potential

UAVs are gaining popularity due to their application in military, private and public sector, especially being attractive for fields where human operator is not required.

Light-weight UAVs are more desirable as they have better performance in terms of shorter take-off range and longer flight endurance. However, light weight structures with complex inner features are hard to fabricate using conventional manufacturing methods.

The ability to print complex inner structures directly without the need of a mould gives Additive Manufacturing (AM) an edge over conventional manufacturing. Recent development in composite and multi-material printing opens up new possibilities of printing lightweight structures and novel platforms like flapping wings with ease.

This paper explores the impact of Additive Fabrication on aerodynamics, structures and materials used for UAVs. The review will discuss state-of-the-art

AM technologies for UAVs through innovations in materials and structures and their advantages and limitations. The role of Additive Fabrication Technology to improve the performance of UAVs through smart material actuators and multi-functional structures will also be discussed.

More info:

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Shweta_Agarwala/publication/311978361_Additive_manufacturing_in_unmanned_aerial_vehicles_UAVs_Challenges_and_potential/links/59dad4e6aca272e6096bf240/Additive-manufacturing-in-unmanned-aerial-vehicles-UAVs-Challenges-and-potential.pdf

Additive Manufacturing for Warfare 4.0

Recognizing the advances in Additive Fabrication technologies, the United States Marine Corps has set up a dedicated Additive Manufacturing program with the aim of mass-producing militaristic items with ease and at any location.

Looking deeper, it is only right to state that this program—which was heralded by the Logistics Innovation Challenge—was developed to give the US Army a considerable edge during wartime.

The program has recorded considerable successes for it led to the development of an unmanned aerial system named ‘Scout’ with reconnaissance features which was built with approximately $600.

The fourth industrial age is here to stay and the exact roles 3d Printing will play in defining how it develops can only be speculated at for now. But one thing is sure: manufacturing in every industry vertical—bio-medicine, the military, engineering, science etc.—will come to rely heavily on the on-going innovations in the field of Additive Fabrication Technologies.

This revolution would definitely have enhanced the German war effort during the battle of Stalingrad by drastically reducing the logistics associated with carting ammunitions as well as other goods from Germany and its environs to Russia. And it is also definitely going to change modern warfare as we know, it in the coming years.

UAVs con electrónica embebida

¿Es posible fabricar un UAV mediante Impresión 3D... y que lleve embebida la electrónica? La respuesta es SÍ, SIN DUDA.

El reto lo ha protagonizado Phillip Keane, estudiante de la Universidad Tecnológica de Nanyang (Singapur), quien ha diseñado y fabricado un UAV con material Ultem 9085, utilizando para ello un sistema de producción 3D Fortus 450mc. Aunque se trataba sólo de un prototipo, el reto demostró la posibilidad de llevar a cabo una fabricación automatizada de UAVs complejos y funcionales mediante impresión 3D.