3D Printed Titanium Replaces Aluminum for Unmanned Aircraft Wing Splice | The Cool Parts Show Ep.72

Aircraft makers applying 3D printing processes to manufacture plane components often begin with less critical parts first, then proceed to more vital parts as confidence builds. But with General Atomics’ introduction of directed energy deposition (DED) to part production, the company began with a part that could not be more critical to flight. DED via the Rapid Plasma Deposition process from Norsk Titanium will be used to 3D print the wing splice for an unmanned aerial system following requirements similar to those of the company’s existing SkyGuardian aircraft. That is, this process will make the part that affixes the wings to a remotely piloted plane. Producing the part this way makes it practical to apply titanium to a component previously machined from aluminum, allowing a more compact design. The Cool Parts Show visited Norsk Titanium in Plattsburgh, New York, where the General Atomics wing splice will be made.


RELATED:

More applications of additive manufacturing at General Atomics

More on Norsk Titanium and the Rapid Plasma Deposition process

Other examples of AM enabling unattended vehicles, including the engine for an unmanned aircraft and the hull of an autonomous underwater vehicle

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00:00 3D Printed Titanium Wing Splice
00:49 Intro to Norsk Titianium
01:52 UAVs and Additive Manufacturing
02:31 Intro to General Atomics and Sky Guardian
04:40 Critical 3D Printed Parts
06:49 The Benefits of Using Titanium
08:36 What is Rapid Plasma Deposition?
10:40 Benefits of 3D Printing Titanium Aerospace Parts
13:46 Improving the Manufacturing Process
16:55 Next Steps Toward Production
18:47 3D Printed Wing Splice Summary
19:50 Cost Effectiveness of 3D Printed Titanium
20:28 Tailoring Powder Management for Qualification Requirements

#engineering #3dprinting #manufacturing #aerospace

[AdditiveManufacturing]

CORRECTION: In the episode, we said the new wing splice is for the SkyGuardian aircraft. That is incorrect. It was designed to requirements similar to those of the SkyGuardian, but which platform it will be used on has not been determined.

[DennisMurphey]

A retired Engineer I have been 3D Printing for over 8 years to make parts for my 1950 Model Trains. I worked in Medical, Aerospace and Automation systems when working. I could see the possibilities to get the heat on these exotic materials was a problem. Then I saw concrete printing house frames. And FFP is making energy from Plasma Arcs on a small scale. Plasma ??? Now I see this and it is heart warming to see Plasma controlled to melt Titanium ina highly more efficient and effective process to use less material in waste and speed up production of critical parts. Very good work and I hope is able to be miniaturized for space station operations to fabricate spares as needed from rolls of wire. Point of use Production meets Plasma Deposition it a very good thing. Add some AI to the control logic for perfect print 100% of the time and get part Cad data for every viable part required, beam up new improved part shapes as needed, wow. D

[goransolheim]

Not to downplay how cool the printing is but the machining on that part is still very impressive those deep slots in particular

[jonivanart]

I can see this being used to make Titanium engine blocks! 🙌🙌

[carbonflightMN]

3D printing Titanium should be a game changer for airline parts and other industry needing light, extremely tough parts!! I'm sure the DOD, NASA, Boeing, Northrop, etc.. are looking at this very closely.

[luimackjohnson]

Amazingly Brilliant! Thank you for sharing this video.

[ModitRC]

Been FDM printing aince 2012 and have long thought of preheating the previous layer for better layer adhesion. This is fascinating stuff.

[DavidCzuba]

Thank you both for representing the industry. The trust you have built with factory suppliers and end users, esp. defense, gives all of us inspiration to see what's possible with AD.

[markjmaxwell]

I was surprised at how strong 3D printed metals were with the right machine settings and processes used.
Less wastage and shapes that were virtually impossible to machine are some of the advantages of additive technologies with 3D printing only improving with time.
😎🇦🇺👍

[chisaomusician]

I like to hear titanium being less expensive than aluminum

[stuartgray]

From the couple of seconds, I saw of the deposition process I can partially reverse engineer it.
They seem to be using a High Frequency Pulse Plasma welder (similar to the airco pulsearc).
They are also using an electromagnetic arc manipulator used in shipbuilding to oscillate the arc back and forth.
They obviously have some custom software controlling the welder and oscillator.

I have often wondered how long it will be before we have CLOSED LOOP additive manufacturing that monitors the quality of the part while it is being made.
If the process detects a defect in the weld puddle, it should be able to fix it in real-time.

[r.rousset]

I am thrilled and deeply grateful to witness that Yankee ingenuity remains vibrant in America. This enduring spirit fills me with hope for a bright future for our nation.

[catsupchutney]

Nobody wants be be a manufacturer, everyone wants to be an information company.

[stevesloan]

Best video I’ve seen you create. Wild tech!

[foodley]

So many amazing opportunities from this. Imagine we are on the doorstep of being able to make lots of the tech from the SR more every day usable!

[tedchristian]

FYI, "Sky Guardian" is a renamed Predator drone, and the "other types of equipment" it carries are explosives. To kill people with. If it was OK they wouldn't need to Orwell it.

[Don_Ross_Haus]

Man, I hope layer adhesion is no longer an issue

[marshalllapenta]

Question?
Has anybody done a STRESS test or a DESTRUCTION test on a additive part vs machined part?
Eliminates waste on a 3D additive part vs machined part.

[TheGreatGastronaut]

22 minutes repeating the same 3 PowerPoint bullet points. Let’s see the finished DED part against the aluminum original. The DED part shown is far from finished. Not much meat to the story, just hype. The post DED machining of the Ti part is possibly the most difficult aspect of the fabrication of this component, so how is it being accomplished and how much scrap is created?

[brasidas]

Saying that additive manufacturing eliminates waste is incorrect. Reducing waste is more accurate.