Page 57 - World Airnews Magazine June 2020 Edition

NEWS DIGITAL

INDUSTRY
Over recent years, 3D printing in the aerospace industry has
rapidly grown in popularity. It is this manufacturing technique
that has helped to enhance the reputation and adoptability of
titanium manufacturing in the aerospace industry.
The use of titanium in 3D printing is predicted to grow rapidly
over the coming years, increasing from a market value of (US)
$518 million in 2022 to over (US) $1 billion by 2026. While
several markets will be driving this growth, such as the dental
and medical sectors, aerospace will also be a major industry
adopting titanium manufacturing.
Titanium has many properties that make it beneficial to the
aerospace sector. However, its ability to be used in 3D printing
is another factor fuelling its widespread adoption in aerospace
manufacturing.
3D printing is a very advantageous manufacturing technique
for aerospace, especially now costs related to set-up and
running have significantly reduced. 3D printing can produce
one-off items on-site. This means that large production runs are
no longer required, so components can be created as and when
they are needed, reducing waste and wait times. As they can be
printed on-site, not only does this allow the necessary compo-
nents to be instantly available, it further reduces the emissions
related to the industry by removing the need to courier aircraft
parts.
Titomic is an Australian company known for leveraging
advanced materials and 3D printing technology. It has success-
fully demonstrated that aircraft components, including the Aerospace, a US aerospace and defence tooling and automation
airframe, blades, castings, discs, fastenings, and landing gear, can provider, to manufacture aerospace tooling using the Titomic
be manufactured using titanium together with 3D printing. Kinetic Fusion method.
The aviation industry is the perfect landscape to grow and devel- The partnership will operate over two phases, the first being
op the process of 3D-printing parts. This is because incredibly high the validation phase, where Titomic will use the TKF9000 system
safety measures must be met by all parts used in planes, forcing to create an approved Invar36 tool for an Ascent customer. The
3D printing to create components to the highest levels of accuracy, process will undergo testing to determine its feasibility as a
reliability, and quality. Approved components manufactured from process on a larger scale.
titanium alloys for the aviation industry are likely to be suitable
for use in other sectors that also operate in highly demanding The second phase of the project will see Titomic and Ascent
environments. devise a joint-sales strategy to supply aerospace tooling in shorter
turnaround times.

If successful, the project will likely lead to the growth of 3D
printing of titanium components within the aerospace industry,
THE PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN TITOMIC AND ASCENT with companies benefitting from shorter lead times, high-quality
AEROSPACE components, and a reduction in carbon emissions. Q
An agreement was recently signed between Titomic and Ascent Article courtesy: https://www.azom.com/article.

World Airnews | June Extra 2020
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