As the three core partners of Clean Sky 2 Program, GE demonstrated the nickel alloy 718 part with a diameter of one meter manufactured by direct metal laser melting process additive, which is one of the largest aerospace parts at present.
This part combines more than 150 parts into one, which can reduce the cost and weight by about 30% from traditional casting to additive manufacturing, and reduce the delivery time from more than nine months to two and a half months.
After nearly six years of R&D and engineering design, the research team recently announced the nickel alloy 718 large TCF shell made of direct metal laser melting (DMLM) 3D printing technology made of GE additive. Among them, Autodesk's role in this research is to integrate more than 150 parts into one part by optimizing the design structure and fluid performance, and develop a lightweight, high-performance turbine center frame shell.
The TCF housing is one of the largest additive manufacturing parts for the aerospace industry, and is specially designed for narrow body engines with a diameter of about one meter or more.
More than 150 independent parts that make up the traditional turbine central frame housing are combined into an overall design. The structural integration of TCF housing is realized through 3D printing. This large engine hardware is produced with a one-piece design solution, while reducing cost, weight, and manufacturing and delivery time, so as to gain a competitive advantage.
According to GE AAT Munich Technology and Operations, the team hopes to reduce the weight of components by 25%, improve the pressure loss of secondary air flow, and significantly reduce the number of components to improve maintenance costs.
These goals have been achieved and exceeded through the final 3D printing of the complete enclosure.
The team was able to reduce the weight by about 30%. It also reduced the manufacturing lead time from nine months to two and a half months, reducing by about 75%.