Stratasys
A pie-shaped component, part of the hatch cover assembly for NASA’s Orion spacecraft.
As announced by the companies in mid-November, Hexagon’s Manufacturing Intelligence division and Stratasys have applied Hexagon’s simulation technology to capture the behaviour of Stratasys’ high-performance, ultra-lightweight Antero reinforced polyetherketoneketone (PEKK) materials and its additive manufacturing processes.
The ‘rigorously validated’ simulations offer Stratasys customers unique insight so they can lightweight components and introduce new sustainable aircraft and spacecraft faster.
3D printed plastic parts can offer ‘transformative’ lightweighting for aerospace according to Stratasys, reducing the energy use and increasing the range of new aircraft. When the material and processes are fully exploited by product designers, it may also reduce the cost caused by overengineering and the waste and lead times of traditional manufacturing methods, according to the company.
Stratasys says that the adoption of plastic and AM methods for structural components has remained slow. The reason for this according to the company is the safety-critical nature of the industry and regulations that must be imposed on parts.
Hexagon says that by providing engineering teams the simulation tools to validate that the materials will achieve the required part performance, they are supplying the ‘missing link’, enabling designers to apply the breakthroughs today.
‘Rigorously-validated’ multi-scale models of the new high-performance aerospace-approved materials, Stratasys Antero 840CN03 and Antero 800NA have been added to Hexagon’s Digimat materials exchange ecosystem, with associated print process parameters from Stratasys’ aerospace-ready 3D printers.
Using the models, engineers can create digital twins that accurately predict how parts printed with the chosen material and approved aerospace-ready Stratasys printer will perform. Digitally, the parts can be simulated with real-world use cases and certification tests before any physical prototypes are manufactured.
Read more: Hexagon unveils plans to grow 3D printing industry’s 'most flexible and open' ecosystem
Hexagon says that the Digimat software, which is designed to be open, gives manufacturers the ability to design lighter parts that can match metals in performance and avoid costly ‘overengineering’ using their preferred finite element analysis (FEA) and computer-aided engineering (CAE) tools.
The Antero materials are already being used in aerospace engineering, with Lockheed Martin using Antero 840CN03 to create NASA’s Orion spacecraft docking hatch cover.
“As the aerospace industry continues to push for more sustainable designs, unlocking the lightweighting potential of thermoplastics and 3D printing will be key. By leveraging the power of our simulation technology, manufacturers gain access to proprietary information so their engineers can ‘work the problem’ with reliable information,” said Aziz Tahiri, Vice President of Global Aerospace and Defence for Hexagon’s Manufacturing Intelligence division.
“We’re excited to see how this next chapter with Stratasys will help the industry create lighter, stronger designs in any design engineering tool with more confidence and less cost and help bring next-gen aircraft to market faster.”
Foster Ferguson, Aerospace Business Segment Leader, Stratasys, said: “The Antero 840CN03 and Antero 800NA thermoplastics provide unprecedented strength, heat, and chemical resistance. When combined with Hexagon’s simulation insights and actionable data, these 3D printed materials’ ability to replace certain applications of aluminium and steel clearly points to growing use in the aerospace industry.”
Through the partnership between Stratasys and Hexagon, which began over a decade ago, several high-performance thermoplastic materials, including ULTEM 9085, ULTEM 9085 CG, ULTEM 1010, and Nylon12CF, have been characterised and added to Hexagon's Digimat material modelling software.
