Historically, changes in military technologies have often occurred in clusters, reflecting major advances in the sciences, manufacturing processes, the organization of economic activities, and even political structures. Nowadays, defense leaders are seeking to secure their military-technological superiority by investing in new areas of Industry 4.0 such as Additive Manufacturing, Advanced Materials, Big Data Analytics, Etc.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The aerospace industry is leading the way for adoption of Additive Fabrication technologies for manufacturing applications. With widespread adoption of Additive Manufacturing for jigs, fixtures, and tooling applications on the shop floor, as well as the announcements of trailblazing companies like United Launch Alliance and Airbus qualifying additive manufactured high performance thermoplastic parts for flight applications, and the printed jet UAV demonstrated in 2015, the future of the industry is starting to take shape.
The webinar will be presented by Scott Sevcik, the Senior Manager for Aerospace & Defense Business Development at Stratasys. In this role, Scott is responsible for accelerating the adoption of 3D Printing in the aerospace and defense industries globally through building partnerships for application and technology development. Prior to Stratasys, Scott led the program management team developing sensors and integrated systems for commercial transport aircraft at United Technologies Aerospace Systems. At UTAS, and Lockheed Martin before that, he led engineering teams on development projects for the SmartProbe® AirData System, the Taiwan P-3 Aircraft, and a satellite launch program. Scott also led proposal efforts for UAVs, avionics, and missile defense programs at Lockheed Martin. Scott holds Master’s degrees in Business Administration and Aerospace Engineering from San Jose State University, and a Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering with a minor in Political Science from Iowa State University.
During the webinar you will learn about:
The recent steps forward in manufacturing for the aerospace industry
The key applications in which the technology is in use
Where Additive Manufacturing for aerospace is headed
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.
In this report, the firm Automotive and Transport Market Research Reportsprojects that the yearly value of AM manufactured parts in the UAV industry to reach $1.9 billion, driving over $400 million in yearly sales of Additive Fabrication equipment, software, materials and services.
The UAV Additive Manufacturing report also provides information on which companies and institutions in the space infrastructure industry are using Additive Fabrication today, with relevant case studies. Key firms in the UAV AM segment include: Boeing, CRP Group, DJI, EHANG, EOS, General Atomics, HP, Hubsan, Lockheed Martin,Northrop Grumman, Oxford Performance Materials (OPM), Parrot, Ricoh, Stratasys, 3D Systems and 3DR.
The report includes an in-depth analysis of the material used for UAV AM prototyping and production, which takes into consideration both high performance polymers and metals as well as composites, ceramics and technologies for direct 3D printing of electronics. This report quantifies the projected value of additive manufactured parts and identifies the most commercially important technologies, materials and applications in 3D printing of UAV parts for prototyping, production and replacement.
The analysis includes ten-year forecasts of the materials, hardware, software and AM services, both in terms of demand and revenues. Granular geographic and part type information completes this first ever accurate study of the potential for AM in the rapidly evolving UAV industry, including defense, commercial and consumer applications.
