The importance of additive manufacturing (AM) to the UK aerospace industry cannot be overstated. There are more than 4,000 companies involved in the industry in the UK and the technology has the potential to revolutionise design approaches and component manufacturing, as well as deliver new opportunities throughout the supply chain.
Aerospace OEMs are always striving for new, cost effective ways to design, build and maintain their market offerings. Demand for reduced weight, higher performing AM parts will continue to grow, to match the ever-increasing demands for lower emissions and better efficiencies.
In a bid to ensure the UK aerospace supply chain can meet and deliver on those needs, the government announced back in November 2017 that it will inject more than 53 million GBP for a range of projects that will tackle barriers to growth, boost exports and grow high value jobs.
An element of that funding will deliver DRAMA (Digital Reconfigurable Additive Manufacturing facilities for Aerospace), a three-year project led by Dr Katy Milne from the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC), to establish world-class AM 'test bed' facilities and a corresponding digital-twin environment where aerospace suppliers will be able to test products and processes in a virtual AM facility. These reconfigurable facilities will be at the National Centre for Additive Manufacturing (NCAM), located at the MTC, Coventry and at Renishaw's AM Solution Centre in Stone, Staffordshire. One of Renishaw's RenAM 500M systems has also been installed at the MTC's facility
DRAMA
The project is receiving 15 million GBP investment from Department of Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) as part of the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (ISCF), delivered through Innovate UK, and supported by the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI). The project consortia includes prominent partners such as ATS Applied Tech Systems, Autodesk, Granta Design, Midlands Aerospace Alliance, National Physical Laboratory, Renishaw and the University of Birmingham.
Formally launched at the MTC in May, the overarching aim of the project is to open up and de-risk the adoption of AM technologies for the entire supply chain and, in doing so, develop relevant, commercially viable AM process chains. With this virtual AM environment, DRAMA will reduce the time and cost in the planning of AM processes, provide a showcase for leading AM equipment and services, and grow the UK's AM knowledge base to increase right-first-time deployment of AM.
This year DRAMA will establish use cases and demonstrate the ability to deliver parts required by the industry, as outlined by the ATI (Aerospace Technology Institute). By November 2019, a full trial facility is expected to be operational at the NCAM to work on proving part production. By year three, in 2020, the facility will be available for the supply chain, to explore and develop AM knowledge and lead to its take up.
How will DRAMA effect the UK aerospace industry?
Viewpoints from across the industry ...
The UK aerospace OEM
Paul Evans, Head of Manufacturing Technologies & Processes - Airbus
"Unless the suppliers can work with AM they are going to miss out. It is about bedding the technology into the UK supply chain, so they know how it works and how to design to get the best quality - to make what we need. Our long-term view is to get momentum so it can be fully exploited in three to four years from now.
As a business, we're really interested in seeing further development and uptake of AM. In the short term, and I mean the next two to three years with our current legacy accounts, we're looking to reduce costs for our parts and that's with less material being required via current castings and forgings. This will provide real benefits as it will mean less raw material and lower our costs.
Looking longer-term, when we bring the next aircraft to market, we'll have to design components and make sure we can make more of them via the AM process."
The technology provider
Marc Saunders, Director, Global Solutions Centres, Renishaw
"DRAMA, being based at the NCAM and supported by Renishaw's AM Solutions Centre, means it will offer a wide scope of AM to the UK aerospace sector. Renishaw's role is to contribute our experience, equipment and time to the project as a leader in the AM field. The DRAMA trial facility will be reconfigurable, supporting a range of projects with different companies.
The digital twin will make sure the development process is effective with less trial and error. It will enable us to understand in more detail how it is built, if there are issues with the variant in the process and, if so, we can perfect it and make more consistent parts.
The DRAMA project is a vital step in building an AM supply chain in the UK and developing the knowledge and confidence to produce the innovative designs coming from the aerospace primes.
Currently, there's a lack of engagement or experience and that needs to be bridged. It's about exploiting the technology widely and helping the supply chain to understand the technology better."
The supply chain
Bridget Day, Supply Chain Technology Director, Midlands Aerospace Alliance
"There is an appetite for more information about the AM process. Before our members make an investment in a new process, they need to know that their customers want AM products. Some companies have already been directed to AM by their customers, but they need help with where they should start.
The cost of the equipment is only one aspect that the supply chain companies need to consider. They also need to know about the skills involved, the materials to use and a lot more about the processes involved.
This is a chance for the supply chain to try out AM on the equipment available and assess its viability and to learn about all aspects.
The other advantage of this project is that the supply chain, via our members, are in at the very start of this project and can play a key role in the planning and development."
