On October 17, 2018, Lufthansa Technology has established a dedicated additive manufacturing (AM) center. Dr. Aenne Koester, head of the AM center, said: "The new AM center will serve as a collaboration center, where Previously acquired experience and skills can be bundled and further expanded with the aim of increasing the maturity of the technology and developing products suitable for production. "
Additive manufacturing can produce individual parts very quickly and gives parts design a very high degree of freedom. This is especially useful when prototypes or disposable parts must be manufactured. In the world of aircraft, where weight reduction is important, the lower component weight makes the use of AM technology very attractive.
Lufthansa technical experts are working with AM experts from various industry partners and research institutes to support the introduction of the technology in the highly regulated aircraft sector.
For example, Lufthansa is working with Oerlikon AM on process repeatability, a key element of industrialization and certification. The two companies will establish representative component geometries, which will be printed on the same 3D printer, and the same process parameters and powder specifications will be used to understand the repeatability of the process. The collaboration aims to capitalize on the potential flexibility and cost savings in manufacturing, purchasing, warehousing and supply chain management. The collaboration will also help advance the industrialization of additive manufacturing, as the results of this work will also be shared with industry agencies to support the development of standards for the certification and approval of aircraft components.