Directed Energy Deposition (DED) and Aerosol Jet Printing (AJP) metal 3D printer developer,Optomec, has received a £1 million contract from theU.S. Air Forceto deliver a high-volume machine for the refurbishment of turbine engine components, including titanium parts.
The New Mexico based company is tasked with producing the machine which will feature a range of state-of-the-art capabilities, including an automation system for batch processing, an oxygen-free controlled atmosphere, and an adaptive vision system. The machine will be installed at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma City.
“Optomec is proud to be serving our military,” said Jamie Hanson, VP business development at Optomec. “We have been processing titanium for years, but not in high-volume, oxygen-free production cells, although Optomec has developed automated, high-volume production cells for other alloys.”
Optomec的镜头技术
Optomec的金属添加剂维修解决方案是基于其专有的激光工程网塑形(LENS) technology, first commercialized over two decades ago. LENS uses a DED process in which a highly concentrated stream of metal powder is jetted into a molten pool created by the focus laser beam. By controlling the melt pool and powder flow, a metal structure is built up either as a fully printed part or as a deposit onto an existing component to repair it.
Optomec has been continuously developing the capabilities of its LENS technology, and in May announced its LENS 3D printers can now be used todeposit any aluminum alloy. At the end of 2019, the firm also developed process parameters for the纯铜零件的生产and released anew software tool, AutoCLAD, to accelerate the use of additive manufacturing for repair.
Most recently, Optomec launched a new投资回报率（ROI）评估工具to evaluate the profitability of automated laser cladding equipment for gas turbine Maintenance and Repair Operations (MRO).
The company has delivered more than 200 LENS/DED machines, with almost half of these being used in production to repair turbine blades in the commercial aviation and power generation markets.
Metal Additive Repair solutions for the U.S. Air Force
由Optomec设计的自动化添加剂维修系统每年都能处理数万维修，最初着重于美国空军涡轮刀片的小费翻新。该公司还将协助空军为一系列目标维修开发最佳过程参数。
The U.S. Air force spends billions of dollars per year on its MRO activity for its military aircraft engines. A lot of this expenditure is dedicated to the replacement of worn or damaged components with newly made parts.
Meanwhile, Optomec’s Metal Additive Repair solutions, which allow for the restoring of existing parts, have demonstrated cost savings of up to 70%. Not only do the solutions provide significant monetary savings, but the Air Force will also benefit from shortened and more predictable lead times, as well as reduced supply chain dependencies.
“The challenge given to us by the Air Force was to provide a system based on commercially proven capabilities that meet their production and technical requirements,” continued Hanson. “We will be providing a first of a kind machine with automation that enables virtually uninterrupted production in an oxygen-free environment. This capability will help enable the broader aerospace industry by meeting its cost-reduction goals going forward.”
Adoption of additive manufacturing for MRO in aviation
The U.S Air Force is optimistic about additive manufacturing’s potential in its aircraft sustainment, with engineers from the俄克拉荷马城空气物流综合体becoming the first to successfully test a 3D printed metal component inside a U.S. Air Force aircraft engineearlier this month.
5月，美国空军之间的合作金属添加剂制造计划，雷电竞充值GE Additive， 和GE Aviation，击中它first technology milestonewith the 3D printing of a sump cover for the F110 jet engine, used on the Air Force’s F-15 and F-16 aircraft.
在商业领域，GE Aviation是喷气发动机，组件和集成系统的跨国公司，去年投资了27台Arcam Electron Beam熔体（EBM）机器produce titanium aluminide (TiAL) blades用于波音的GE9X商用飞机发动机。在2018年，该公司庆祝30,000th 3D printed fuel nozzle tip, installed within GE’s LEAP jet engine, marking a significant milestone for production-scale additive manufacturing.
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Featured image shows view inside an aviation hangar. Image via Optomec.
