Русский

Safran Group believes that additive manufacturing is playing an increasingly important role in engines

812
2025-06-18 10:31:54
Посмотреть перевод

Safran Group showcased a 3-foot diameter turbine aft casing manufactured using additive manufacturing technology under the RISE technology program at the Paris Air Show in recent years. This component is Safran's largest additive manufacturing component to date, indicating the increasingly widespread application of additive manufacturing in the design and manufacturing of turbofan engines.

 



In early June, Delphine Derud, Vice President of Engineering at Safran Aircraft Engines, stated that compared to traditional cast parts, the mass of the turbine rear casing has been reduced by one-third, and the production cycle has been shortened from 18 months to three weeks. The ultimate goal is to compress it to one week or even shorter in order to incorporate design changes in the later stages of development.

Francois Xavier Foubert, CEO of Safran Additive Manufacturing Park, pointed out that although melting metal through additive manufacturing is not the most economical way, if eliminating welding can bring benefits, such as significant weight reduction or achieving more complex configurations, integrating more work, or making the overall design lighter, then this technology is meaningful; Traditional manufacturing requires 3-10 pounds of metal to produce a 1-pound component, while additive manufacturing only requires 1.5 pounds, greatly improving material utilization; The current additive manufacturing turbine casing requires almost no mechanical processing and can achieve "near net forming".

Safran Group has applied additive manufacturing to engine production, and currently has 14 components (made of aluminum, nickel based high-temperature alloys, or titanium) in mass production. Fubel stated that 25% of additive manufacturing applications in RISE validation machines will represent the production standards for future engines. He predicts that additive manufacturing equipment will be able to produce larger parts: parts with a diameter of 2 meters can be manufactured by the early 2030s; Installing more high-power lasers on a single device can melt thicker layers of metal powder, thereby improving efficiency.

Fubel reminds designers that there are risks involved in developing new categories of metal powders. A single device is only compatible with one type of powder, and multiple types of metal powders require multiple devices. Given that each device is worth 3 to 5 million euros (3.4 to 5.7 million US dollars), manufacturers tend to control the number of devices, while also requiring a single device to support multiple component designs.

Fubel added that although additive manufacturing applications are expanding, other processes remain competitive. Due to its low cost, the casting process may be used to manufacture some structurally simpler components. Complex metallurgical techniques may be suitable for manufacturing single crystal components; The forging process may still be suitable for manufacturing high load components. Engine manufacturers can sometimes choose between these three processes. Eric Darbier, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of Safran, pointed out that "forging, casting, or additive manufacturing should be chosen with lower costs while ensuring autonomy and controllability." Although the mine cannot be relocated, the process of atomizing metal into powder can be localized. Airbus and Safran may request joint venture metal supplier Obert Duvall to construct titanium alloy atomization facilities.

Source: Yangtze River Delta G60 Laser Alliance

Связанные рекомендации
  • Omnitron Announces Partnership with Silex Microsystems to Mass Produce MEMS Scanning Mirrors for LiDAR

    According to reports, Omnitron Sensors, a pioneer in the development of MEMS sensing technology for large-scale and low-cost markets, recently announced that it will collaborate with Silex Microsystems, a subsidiary of Semielectronics, to mass produce MEMS scanning mirrors for LiDAR.Eric Aguilar, co-founder and CEO of Omnitron Sensors, said, "We have noticed a huge demand from manufacturers of adv...

    2023-09-19
    Посмотреть перевод
  • Ultra fast laser tracking the "ballistic" motion of electrons in graphene

    Figure 1. The setup of Hui Zhao and his team at the University of Kansas Ultra Fast Laser Laboratory.A team of researchers from the University of Kansas's ultrafast laser laboratory recently managed to capture real-time ballistic transmission of electrons in graphene, which could lead to faster, more powerful, and more energy-efficient electronic devices in the future.The motion of electrons is of...

    2024-01-09
    Посмотреть перевод
  • The First Ultra Fast Laser Application Development Conference was held in Songshan Lake, Dongguan

    The First Ultra Fast Laser Application Development Conference was held in Songshan Lake, Dongguan. The first advanced attosecond laser facility in China will have 8 beam lines landing in Dongguan.Laser enjoys the reputation of being the "fastest knife," "most accurate ruler," and "brightest light," among others. As an important research direction in the laser field, ultrafast laser has always been...

    2023-10-28
    Посмотреть перевод
  • Aston receives £ 600000 to address the surge in energy needed for data centers

    A researcher from Aston University in Birmingham, UK, has received a grant of £ 625000 (approximately $850000) to help address the energy surge required for data centers.The UK’s Royal Academy of Engineering has announced the latest recipients of its fellowships which support engineers to solve a wide range of society’s challenges. Data center energy demand is described as “one of today’s most pre...

    10-24
    Посмотреть перевод
  • Researchers have developed a QCL DFB continuous laser for gas detection

    Alpes Laser was founded in 1998 in Nazhatel, Switzerland and was the first company to bring quantum cascade lasers to the market. It released its first continuous laser in 2001 and its first high gain laser in 2009, thus maintaining this priority position.In 2004, the first commercial laser was introduced.Principle: In a single mode laser, the grating is etched into the active region to force the ...

    2023-08-16
    Посмотреть перевод