Stratasys announced that GKN Aerospace is improving production times and removing design constraints for multiple tooling applications since integrating additive manufacturing at its Filton manufacturing site in the UK.
Time cut from several weeks to a few hours using Stratasys Production 3D Printer: GKN Aerospace is producing complex tools that were uneconomical or impossible to make without additive manufacturing.
GKN serves over 90 percent of the world’s aircraft and engine manufacturers with aerostructures, engine systems and technologies.
According to , the company decided to invest in the Stratasys F900 Production 3D Printer in a bid to cut lead times for production-line tools, and to create complex parts, impossible to make with traditional manufacturing methods.
Dutch construction company Van Wijnen has partnered with the Eindhoven University of Technology to deliver five fully habitable, 3D-printed houses by 2019.
This is perfectly illustrated by the pioneering efforts of Honeywell Aerospace, a global provider of integrated avionics, engines, systems and service solutions for various partners from the aerospace, aviation and defense industries. They were one of the first to begin experimenting with metal 3D printing way back in 2010, but they haven’t gotten much further than a few practical test parts yet. But it seems as though the technology is reaching a turning point, as it is receiving FAA approval and has also become cheaper and faster than competing technologies. As a result, Honeywell has now begun taking the 3D printing technology out of the laboratories, and into the engine development realm. Metal 3D printing is finally ready for lift-off.