Lower Buy-to-Fly Ratios with Near-Net Additive Manufacturing
Building up large parts with wire-arc metal 3D printing rather than machining from solid has allowed this aerospace manufacturer to reduce its buy-to-fly ratio dramatically.
.jpg;width=70;height=70;mode=crop;format=webp)
Share
.JPG;maxWidth=720)
Machining a large aerospace part like this from solid can result in up to 90% of the material being scrapped as chips. Building it up with metal 3D printing greatly reduces the machining time and amount of material needed.
“We buy raw material to make it fly; the less material remains on the ground the better,” says Heinz Baehr, a member of the executive board for Aircraft Philipp Group in Übersee, Germany.
This dichotomy between material purchased and material that ultimately ends up in flight can be expressed by a buy-to-fly ratio, in other words the ratio of material input to final part output. A high ratio means that much of the raw material that was purchased never made it to the air. Most of that material became scrap on the ground, likely cut away in a machining process. When dealing with expensive metals like titanium, those unused chips can add up to significant cost. A conventional process like milling can have a buy-to-fly ratio 10 or higher.
To reduce scrap and improve its buy-to-fly ratio, Aircraft Philipp has implemented metal additive manufacturing (AM) to manufacture near-net-shape parts. Using a wire-arc-based AM system from Gefertec to print large parts has reduced machining time as well as material usage. As a result, the company’s buy-to-fly ratio is now close to 2 on large aerospace components.
Read more in , European correspondent for Modern Machine Shop and sister publication Additive Manufacturing.
Additive Manufacturing Conference
Want to learn more about AM for part production? Attend the Additive Manufacturing Conference + Expo, a three-day technical conference, exhibit hall and business networking event focused on the industrial applications of additive technologies for production. Register here.
Related Content
-
Increasing OEM Visibility to Shopfloor Operations for the Win
A former employee of General Motors and Tesla talks about the issues that led to shutdowns on factory lines, and what small- to medium-sized manufacturers can do today to win business from large OEMs.
-
How a Custom ERP System Drives Automation in Large-Format Machining
Part of Major Tool’s 52,000 square-foot building expansion includes the installation of this new Waldrich Coburg Taurus 30 vertical machining center.
-
Shop Tour Video: Inside an Aviation & Defense Machine Shop
Grants. Software. Process consolidation. These three pillars can bring new life to a shop, enabling it to take on more complex jobs with faster turnarounds. In this shop tour, find out how MSP Manufacturing has used each pillar to solidify itself as a reliable partner for defense and aerospace companies.