Senior Aerospace Fortus 450mc Stratasys
Senior Aerospace BWT has installed two Stratasys Fortus 450mc 3D printing systems to design and produce interior aircraft components for its customers.
The company is an AS/EN/JISQ 9100:2016 accredited manufacturer of ai distribution systems and has previously been using Stratasys’ FDM 3D printing technology for interior aircraft parts via a service provider. Since installing the two new machines Senior Aerospace BWT has carried out a rigorous testing and qualification of Stratasys’ ULTEM 9085 resin and will now look to supply its customers in the regional, military, private jet and rotorcraft markets with 3D printed parts for use in low pressure air ducting and air handling systems.
Harnessing the Fortus 450mc platforms and ULTEM 9085 resin, Senior Aerospace BWT is able to address small order quantities and complex geometries, while also making significant savings on the weight, cost and lead-time of parts. The company has been using 3D printing for ten years and leveraging Stratasys FDM technology for four. In 2018, it supplied its first duct incorporating a 3D printed part for flight use on regional passenger jets and has since gone on to deliver hundreds of lightweight and flight-ready parts using FDM.
The success of its FDM 3D printing application led Senior Aerospace BWT to bring the technology in-house, purchasing the Fortus 450mc systems through Stratasys’ local reseller Tri-Tech 3D.
“Senior Aerospace BWT is now an industry leader in driving the increased adoption of thermoplastic 3D printed parts for aircraft, enabling our customers to benefit from the significant benefits that this technology delivers,” commented Darren Butterworth, CEO of Senior Aerospace BWT. “After two years of intensive R&D work, we have qualified the associated products and processes, which enable us to produce flight-ready parts quickly and cost-effectively for our customers. We now have the capability of deploying a robust, accurate, repeatable and traceable process – which is what the industry demands.”
Senior Aerospace BWT says it expects to install additional Stratasys Fortus 450mc machines as it looks to extend its additive manufacturing services to the automotive and defence industries.
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