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The World’s First 3D Printed Jet Engine; Spectacular proof of concept has aerospace companies lining up - 2015 March #6-2
Image: The 3D printed jet engine on display. Credit: MCAM
Made in Melbourne and on display at the Avalon International Airshow
February 26, 2015: Monash University researchers along with collaborators
from CSIRO and Deakin University have printed a jet engine. In fact Monash
and their spin-out company Amaero, have printed two engines. One is on
display this week at the International Air Show in Avalon, while the second
is displayed in Toulouse at the French aerospace company Microturbo
(Safran).
The engines are a proof of concept that’s led to tier one
aerospace companies lining up to develop new components at the Monash Centre
for Additive Manufacturing in Melbourne, Australia. And the project has
created advanced manufacturing opportunities for Australian businesses large
and small.
Microturbo (Safran) provided an older - though still in
service - gas turbine engine. It’s an auxiliary power unit used in aircraft
such as the Falcon 20 and was chosen because Microturbo (Safran) was
willing for the internal workings to be displayed.
“It was our chance to
prove what we could do,” says Professor Xinhua Wu, the director of the
Monash Centre for Additive Manufacturing. “But when we reviewed the plans we
realised that the engine had evolved over years of manufacture. So we took
the engine to pieces and scanned the components. Then we printed two
copies.” It was a complex project that took a year, with funding from Monash
University, the Science and Industry Endowment Fund (SIEF), and others.
“Xinhua and her Monash team have demonstrated their mastery of additive
manufacturing in metal. The partnership with Microturbo (Safran) is a
success story that was recognised last year when Safran gave the team its
Prize ‘Innovation for Product and Technology’ for the excellent work carried
out in partnership with Microturbo and the University of Birmingham. Monash
and AMAERO are already key partners for our new developments and we are keen
to have their help in developing new technologies for our future engines,”
says Jean-François Rideau, head of R&T from Microturbo (Safran).
“The
project is a spectacular proof of concept that’s leading to significant
contracts with aerospace companies. It was a challenge for the team and
pushed the technology to new heights of success - no one has printed an
entire engine commercially yet,” says Ben Batagol, of Amaero Engineering,
the company created by Monash University to make the technology available to
Australian industry.
“Australia’s manufacturing industries need access to
the latest technologies to stay competitive,” says Professor Ian Smith,
Monash University’s Vice Provost for Research and Research Infrastructure.
“This Centre allows them to rapidly prototype metal devices across a wide
range of industries. It’s part of a large integrated suite of facilities for
research and industry at Monash,” he says.
The Centre, AMAERO and the jet
engine project have been supported by the Australian government via the
Australian Research Council (ARC), the CRC program, Commercialisation
Australia, the Science and Industry Endowment Fund (SIEF); Monash University
and Safran.
Additive manufacturing (3D printing)
3D printing has been
used since the 1980s by the aerospace industry, usually to produce
prototypes. With more complex, expensive printing machines being built in
recent years (such as those with lasers to melt metal powders, used by
MCAM), more opportunities for different materials and therefore different
applications are opening up. Printing in metals has its challenges,
including the high temperatures required and safety issues that accompany
them.
A SmarTech report
(smartechpublishing.com/blog/white-paper-additive-manufacturing-in-aerospace-strategic-implications)
suggested the main benefits to the aerospace industry are: reduction in lead
time, which is the time between the beginning and completion of a
project/process; reducing the weight of parts; reducing operational and
production costs; and reducing impact on the environment from production
processes, though the actualities may not meet some expectations.
Some
designs that might require multiple parts to be created and then fused are
able to be printed in one piece, and designs easily tweaked. Materials waste
can reportedly be reduced by as much as 90%, which means a significant
savings when using expensive materials such as titanium. There is also the
benefit of being able to print parts on an as-needed basis rather than
stockpiling replacements, and cutting the need for moulds and tools.
Professor Xinhua Wu
Director of the Monash Centre for Additive
Manufacturing and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Design in Light Metals,
Professor Xinhua Wu brings extensive expertise to the work. Her history
includes collaboration with Rolls-Royce, the European Space Agency, Airbus
and Bombardier. And she has big plans for Australia’s aerospace industry.
“A lot of global companies are slow to consider Australia due to its
remoteness from the major manufacturing centres, but there is a lot of
impressive research being conducted by exceptional researchers,” Wu says.
Web links: Amaero: www.amaero.com.au ; Monash Centre for Additive
Manufacturing: platforms.monash.edu/mcam ; Safran: www.safran-group.com ;
ARC Centre of Excellence for Design in Light Metals:
www.arclightmetals.org.au/index.html
(source:
www.scienceinpublic.com.au/media-releases/monash-avalonairshow-2015#more-20018)
(See the front page in print...)
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