GE Additive’s AP&C division has signed a new agreement with Airbus to provide Ti-6AI-4V titanium powders for use in metal additive manufacturing applications.
The new multi-year agreement extends the working relationship Airbus has had with AP&C for several years.
Airbus has been a long-time user of 3D printing technology, adopting both polymer and metal additive manufacturing processes to produce a range of aircraft parts. In 2017, the leading aviation company installed a 3D printed titanium bracket on the A350 XWB aircraft, while Satiar delivered certified metal 3D printed wingtip fence components as spare parts for an A320ceo aircraft in November 2020. It was also revealed last year that Premium AEROTEC is to use GE Additive’s Concept Laser M2 machine to produce titanium components for its A320 family of aircraft.
With such applications of 3D printed titanium becoming more and more common, Airbus has sought to partner with AP&C, a leading player in the large-scale production metal materials. After continuing to invest in its plasma atomisation technology, AP&C now has the capacity to manufacture more than 1,000 tonnes of titanium powder per year via a dozen powder production lines across two manufacturing sites.
“The adoption of metal additive technology in aerospace continues to gather momentum,” commented AP&C CEO Alain Dupont. “And one of the challenges of matching that pace in a highly-regulated industry like aerospace is building a robust supply chain that can meet both the industry standard for conventionally and additively manufactured parts, but also add value. Our approach is to be more than just a supplier of metal powders to our customers. To scale metal additive manufacturing, acceleration can only be achieved by sharing knowledge best practice to lower risk and increase stability. One way we have supported Airbus in recent years, for example, has been to help its in-house additive manufacturing team establish its own methods and processes to qualify Ti-6AI-4V powders.”
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