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3D printing can cut material

consumption by 75%, CO2 emissions by
40%
Oct. 24, 2013 • 3 min read • original

Oct.24, 2013

EADS Innovation Works (IW), the aerospace and defence group's research
and technology organisation, is always on the look-out for new manufacturing
methods. A recent target for evaluation was an additive manufacturing
process called Direct Metal Laser-Sintering (DMLS).

Developed by EOS, it is being used by EADS IW to manufacture

demonstration parts to explore the benefits of optimised design and
production sustainability. Protection of the environment is a key driver, while
a reduction in the costs of manufacturing and operating its aerospace
products also underlies the group's research.

As quality, costs and environmental effects play a major role in the decision-
making process for design and manufacturing solutions, EADS IW has defined
new Technology Readiness Level (TRL) criteria focusing on sustainability.
Nine TRL processes must be passed at EADS before a technology can be
qualified for use in production. For each TRL review, a technology's level of
maturity is evaluated in terms of performance, engineering, manufacturing,
operational readiness, value and risk. For each of these criteria, new
components must out-perform existing ones.

The results from the initial joint study of AM were evaluated in terms of CO2
emissions, energy and raw material efficiency and recycling. When analysing
energy consumption, the company's investigation included not only the
production phase, but also the sourcing and transportation of raw materials,
argon consumption for the atomisation of the DMLS metal powder, and
overall waste from atomisation.

An assessment by EADS IW highlighted, amongst other things, the potential

cost and sustainability benefits of DMLS during the operational phase in the
redesign of Airbus A320 nacelle hinge brackets. The data was backed up by

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test results from EOS and, in an additional step, by test results from a raw
material (powder) supplier.

Conventionally designed and produced cast steel nacelle hinge bracket for an
Airbus A320. source: EADS

In the first instance, cast steel nacelle hinge brackets were compared to an
additively manufactured (AM) bracket of optimised titanium design by
measuring the energy consumption over the whole life cycle. The technology
turned out to be a good fit for the design optimisation, as for this application
the operational phase is typically 100 times more important than the static
phases (e.g. manufacturing the part).

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Optimised titanium version of the nacelle hinge bracket made by DMLS additive
manufacturing technology from EOS. source: EADS

A comparison was made between manufacturing the optimised titanium

component by rapid investment casting and on an EOS platform. Energy
consumption for the life cycle of the bracket, including raw material
manufacture, the production process and the end-of-life phase, is slightly
smaller on the EOS platform compared with rapid investment casting. The
main advantage of the EOS technology, however, is that the additive process
uses only the amount of material for manufacture that is in the product itself.
Thus consumption of raw material can be reduced by up to 75 per cent.

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Further example of improved part design: prototype of an optimised Airbus A380

bracket made by DMLS from stainless steel powder, with conventional bracket
behind. source: EADS

The study focused on the comparison between DMLS and rapid investment
casting of a single part and did not take into account the question of
scalability, which has yet to be addressed. However, some impressive results
were documented.

The optimised design of the nacelle hinge bracket allowed EADS and EOS to
demonstrate the potential to reduce the weight per aircraft by approximately
10 kg – a significant amount in aviation. CO2 emissions as a result of the
brackets were reduced by almost 40 per cent over their life cycle by
optimising the design, despite the fact that the EOS technology uses
significantly more energy during manufacture.

Jon Meyer at EADS IW said, "DMLS has demonstrated a number of benefits,

as it can support design optimisation and enable subsequent manufacture in
low volume production.

"In general, the joint study revealed that DMLS has the potential to build
light, sustainable parts with due regard to our company's CO2 footprint.

"A key driver of the study was the integrated and transparent cooperation
between customer and supplier, with an open approach that saw an
unprecedented level of information sharing.

"The collaboration has set the standard for future studies involving the
introduction and adoption of new technologies and processes.

"Even after the first positive results were evident, neither of the parties
settled for the outcome, but continued to investigate options for further

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improvement."

Part of the project's success was due to continued efforts towards further
enhancements, evidenced by the swapping of the EOSINT M 270 DMLS
machine for an EOSINT M 280 using titanium instead of steel, which led to
additional CO2 savings. The technology has the potential to make future
aircraft lighter, leading to savings in resources which help to meet
sustainability goals, without compromising on safety.

Jon Meyer, ALM Research Team Leader at EADS IW, added, "We see several
advantages in the use of DMLS, mainly concerning freedom of design and
ecological aspects.

"We can optimise structures and integrate dedicated functionality, in addition

to which DMLS can significantly reduce sites' CO2 footprints, as our study
with EOS demonstrated.

"Furthermore, considering ecology and design together, optimised structures

can result in reduced CO2 emissions due to weight reduction. I see
tremendous potential in DMLS technology for future aircraft generations,
when it comes to both development and manufacturing."

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