New Safran trial to 3D print safety-critical aerospace parts

SLM Solutions' sole agent for the UK and Ireland, Kingsbury, said the trial involved 3D printing the main fitting for the nose landing gear of a business jet layer by layer from titanium alloy powder by selective laser melting.

It was a world first for such a large part measuring 455mm x 295mm x 805mm tall. The component was redesigned to optimise its production using metal powder bed AM, leading to a time saving in the build process and a significant weight reduction of around 15% compared with if the part were to be milled from a forging.

Due to the stringent demands placed on this component, which is one of the landing gear elements that transfers the load from the front wheel to the aircraft structure and is retracted after take-off, titanium is the ideal material due to its good mechanical properties, durability and resistance to corrosion without the need for surface treatment.

Thierry Berenger, additive manufacturing project leader at Safran Landing Systems said: "We chose SLM Solutions as a partner because of their expertise and the availability of an SLM800 machine at their facility in Lübeck, which exactly met our requirements in terms of size and reliability."

Having a vertically extended build envelope, the machine is equipped with SLM Solutions’ proven quad-laser technology and other innovative features such as a patented gas flow system and a permanent filter, which ensure high reliability. One of the strengths of SLM technology is its flexibility. Design changes can be quickly made and modifications printed and tested, so less time is spent in prototype development.

Gerhard Bierleutgeb, EVP global services & solutions at SLM Solutions added: "Additive manufacturing contributes to saving time in the qualification and certification phases by rapidly providing parts for testing.

"We were able to produce this main fitting in a few days on the SLM800, whereas it would take a few months using a traditional process based on a forging.”

Kingsbury www.kingsburyuk.com

SLM Solutions www.slm-solutions.com