AEROTECH® Americas

How Additive Manufacturing is Driving the Factory of the Future

Adam Ricard, Additive Manufacturing Director at LAI International Inc. and member of the SAE International Committee on Additive Manufacturing, shares the positive impact of adopting additive manufacturing at LAI International, the world’s first NADCAP-accredited additive manufacturing supplier.

Learn more about additive manufacturing at AeroTech Americas, the North American-based, tip-to-tail aviation event focused on the next generation of air transport. Register today.

Transforming Mobility Development with Additive Manufacturing

Dr. John Hart, Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Director of the Center for Additive and Digital Advanced Production Technologies (ADAPT) at MIT explores the advantages of adopting additive manufacturing into production environments and workflows.

Learn more at AeroTech Americas. Where the world-class technical program focuses on all of the newest technologies needed to manufacture the aircraft of tomorrow, including additive manufacturing, Industry 4.0, AR/VR technology, digital thread, and blockchain. Register today!

Studies into Additive Manufacturing for In-Space Manufacturing

NASA has embarked on an ambitious program to integrate additive manufacturing techniques and to develop processes for the microgravity environment. The most recent example of this program is the successful launch and deployment of the first 3D printer on the International Space Station. In this one-year effort, students were required to meet a series of milestones to design, manufacture, and test their ideas in close cooperation with members of the NASA Exploration Augmentation Module (EAM) concept team.The participants in this project were tasked with thinking of new solutions using AM that would simultaneously be recyclable with minimal loss in mechanical properties but also have the capacity for high mechanical properties. Working in interdisciplinary teams, the participant teams investigated the use of recycled materials, characterization, testing, modeling, and tool development. The underlying philosophy adopted in these papers is the ability to use a strut-and-tie approach that integrates reusable carbon-fiber tension ties for tension zones.The results of this project encompass a series of nterconnected studies exploring the issues surrounding 3D printing in a space environment.

Learn more at AeroTech Americas where you’ll explore all of today’s most important topics in aviation, from blended/hybrid-wing-body designs and electric technologies, to unmanned systems and urban air-taxis, to navigating environmental regulations and budget constraints. Register today.

Electric Flight Technology

The environmental impact of hydrocarbon-burning aircraft, both from the perspective of gas emissions and that of noise, is one of the main motivations for the move to electric propulsion. The added benefit from this shift to electric propulsion is that it has resulted in lowering the costs of electrical components such as motors, power electronic (PE) circuits, and batteries that are essential to this technology. This white paper seeks to explore the history, architecture, electrical components, and future trends of electric flight technology.

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Simulating Thermal Expansion in Composites with Expanded Metal Foil for Lightning Protection

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is comprised of more than fifty percent carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) due to the material's light weight and exceptional strength. Although CFRP composites inherently have many advantages, they cannot mitigate the potentially damaging electromagnetic effects from a lightning strike. To solve this problem, electrically conductive expanded metal foil (EMF) can be added to the composite structure layup to rapidly dissipate excessive current and heat for lightning protection of CFRP in aircraft.

Engineers at Boeing Research and Technology (BR&T) are using multiphysics simulation and physical measurements to investigate the effect of the EMF design parameters on thermal stress and displacement in each layer of the composite structure layup. Stress accumulates in the protective coating of the composite structure as a result of thermal cycling due to the typical ground-to-air flight cycle. Over time, the protective coating may crack providing an entrance for moisture and environmental species that can cause corrosion of the EMF, thereby reducing its electrical conductivity and ability to perform its protective function. Through their research, they aim to improve overall thermal stability in the composite structure and therefore reduce the risks and maintenance costs associated with damage to the protective coating.

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Repairing Composites

As the aerospace industry continues on its quest for ever-increased efficiency, so goes the quest for ever-more composite content on aircraft. And with it, more opportunities to repair it. Typical composite panel fiber reinforcements are carbon, aramid, and fiberglass. The machining techniques for these typical composite materials are similar, but minor differences exist, such as the style of cutting tool or drill bit. Automated drilling methods that may be used during original manufacture are rarely used in typical composite repair situations.

Learn more about composites at AeroTech Americas where you’ll explore all of today’s most important topics in aviation, from blended/hybrid-wing-body designs and electric technologies, to unmanned systems and urban air-taxis. Register today.