Has your shop adopted additive manufacturing in full? What are some of your biggest challenges with the technology?
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Additive Manufacturing
2018-Aug-21 | 5:10 pm EDT
#1
MSC Moderator
Additive Manufacturing
There are new ways of using additive manufacturing technology showing up in the marketplace. There are now 5 axis machining centers that are using metal additive technology to achieve cost savings that weren't possible before. This new way of machining uses new metal additive technology and traditional subtractive machining to save on material cost, setup cost, and costs due to lost material during manufacturing.
does anyone have experience or helpful information about how additive manufacturing parts and process are certified within the aerospace industry?
Thanks
So I wrote an article for Better MRO about a startup that has gone through this process. I interviewed Leslie Peters, CEO of Metro Aerospace, about her additive parts business for the defense industry at IMTS last year. The relevant things to know: AS certification is very important here (Peters mentioned both AS9100 and AS9100D).
She also called out this: "[A]erospace standards on the specification side are not as rigid for additive as they are in other manufactured parts. They are being developed—and those in the industry pay attention to the consortiums and closely monitor SAE International standards."
Metro Aerospace is working with 3D Systems to manufacture the parts, and they have AS9100 certification. They also mentioned that the quality standards and specs within the OEM (Lockheed Martin in this case) are also very helpful in that they know they have to build to them.
Depending on what country you are targeting and the market, you'll need to understand the local regulations (such as the FAA in the US).
Hope this helps!
Here's one major consortium I found, but it's not specific to aerospace: https://ewi.org/services/research-services/additive-manufacturing-consortium/
Anyone else have any info on which consortiums to follow for additive in aerospace?
Thanks Don, much appreciated
My plan currently is to use the AS9100D as a sort of guideline, and then at each clause delve a bit deeper and address each clause specifically in an AM spense.
Will follow up when I have more specific questions.
Thanks
Duncan
Duncan: I reached out to Leslie Peters, CEO of Metro Aerospace, to see what she would say, and there's more to know. Here's her take:
On certification:
"Regarding certification, the process for Additively Manufactured parts for Aerospace is basically the same for any part manufactured: the facility, equipment, material, processes, training, First Article inspection, etc. all have to be mastered and approved. There’s no short cut for certifying a part because of how it’s manufactured. There’s many factors that would determine how you become ‘certified’ - depending on what role you’re in (OEM, supplier, distributor…), and what part it is (prototype, production, structural, rotating, targeted for civil aviation and/or military, etc.), the answer to ‘how’ can be very different. I would have to understand a lot more about the user to be able to give real guidance and relevant answers. There’s a ton of consultants who can help a company become certified."
On quality certifications:
"I will say, for Quality certifications AS9100D is the current quality standard, it’s layered on ISO9000 standards. You don’t have to be AS9100 certified to manufacture parts for aerospace, but many companies such as Lockheed Martin will require this certification. The US Government doesn’t require certification but does require you to have quality systems in place of some sort, and many require you to be AS9100 ‘compliant’. This standard will provide guidance on your processes as an organization but it’s not specific to AM."
On consortiums:
"Additive Manufacturing (AM) is a term used loosely for anything 3D printed, whether it’s with metal (SLM/DMLS, EBM) or otherwise. The term AM refers to the process, and 3D printing refers often to the technology and material which determines the most effective equipment to use. I know there is a consortium setup by EMI for metal AD manufacturing, it’s called Additive Manufacturing Consortium (AMC). I’m not involved in this as my focus is with SLS (powder bed fusion technology) and FDM (material extrusion technology) additive manufacturing with non-metal materials. The only group I belong to is SAE with a focus on Aerospace. Probably a printer OEM could offer up some specific consortiums for AM."
FYI: This article is a good background on taking an additive part to market: "How to Take a 3D Printed Part to Market in Aerospace"
Thanks to Leslie for all this context. Good luck and let us know what you end up doing!
I reached out to Leslie Peters, CEO of Metro Aerospace, to see what she would say, and there's more to know. Here's her take:
On certification:
"Regarding certification, the process for Additively Manufactured parts for Aerospace is basically the same for any part manufactured: the facility, equipment, material, processes, training, First Article inspection, etc. all have to be mastered and approved. There’s no short cut for certifying a part because of how it’s manufactured. There’s many factors that would determine how you become ‘certified’ - depending on what role you’re in (OEM, supplier, distributor…), and what part it is (prototype, production, structural, rotating, targeted for civil aviation and/or military, etc.), the answer to ‘how’ can be very different. I would have to understand a lot more about the user to be able to give real guidance and relevant answers. There’s a ton of consultants who can help a company become certified."
On quality certifications:
"I will say, for Quality certifications AS9100D is the current quality standard, it’s layered on ISO9000 standards. You don’t have to be AS9100 certified to manufacture parts for aerospace, but many companies such as Lockheed Martin will require this certification. The US Government doesn’t require certification but does require you to have quality systems in place of some sort, and many require you to be AS9100 ‘compliant’. This standard will provide guidance on your processes as an organization but it’s not specific to AM."
On consortiums:
"Additive Manufacturing (AM) is a term used loosely for anything 3D printed, whether it’s with metal (SLM/DMLS, EBM) or otherwise. The term AM refers to the process, and 3D printing refers often to the technology and material which determines the most effective equipment to use. I know there is a consortium setup by EMI for metal AD manufacturing, it’s called Additive Manufacturing Consortium (AMC). I’m not involved in this as my focus is with SLS (powder bed fusion technology) and FDM (material extrusion technology) additive manufacturing with non-metal materials. The only group I belong to is SAE with a focus on Aerospace. Probably a printer OEM could offer up some specific consortiums for AM."
FYI: This article is a good background on taking an additive part to market: "How to Take a 3D Printed Part to Market in Aerospace"
Thanks to Leslie for all this context. Good luck and let us know what you end up doing, Duncan!