https://ift.tt/2QCZs79
Ingersoll 3D Prints Massive Helicopter Blade Tool for Bell Helicopter https://ift.tt/3w9fEgL Ingersoll Machine Tools Inc. is continuing to demonstrate the applications for the world’s largest polymer 3D printer, the MasterPrint. This time, it 3D printed a 22-foot-long vacuum trim tool used for producing helicopter rotor blades. The company worked together with helicopter manufacturer Bell Textron Inc. to produce the part, which used 1,150 pounds of ABS plastic with 20% chopped carbon fiber fill to produce a single part in 75 hours of continuous operation. Once the mold was printed, the MasterPrint switched to its five-axis milling head to machine the surfaces and necessary tooling features, in order to ensure full vacuum tightness, in one week.
According to the partners involved, this fabrication process saved months of manufacturing time, with traditional aluminum molds usually requiring between four and five months to make. In comparison, the 22-foot tool only took a matter of weeks.
Like the rest of the aerospace sector, Bell has been experimenting with 3D printing. In 2016, a 3D printed part flew on the Osprey helicopter developed by Bell and Boeing. It has also been researching the possibility of using metal parts made with laser powder bed fusion. After demonstrating the possibilities of the technology by making the world’s largest 3D printed boat, Ingersoll’s MasterPrint has embarked on more practical matters, such as 3D printing molds for wind turbine blades. Molds and tooling seem to be a key demonstrator technology for large-scale polymer machines such as the MasterPrint and Cincinnati Incorporated’s BAAM 3D printer, both developed in collaboration with Oak Ridge National Laboratory. On the one hand, these massive components showcase the potential for large-scale polymer 3D printing. At the same time, tools are for indirect manufacturing and don’t have the same standards requirements as end parts. As companies get more comfortable with the technology and develop the appropriate standards, they can move on to producing end components. However, the cost- and time-savings alone make the ability to 3D print specialized molds and tools worthwhile for such unique items as rotor blades for helicopters. Printing via 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing https://3dprint.com March 29, 2021 at 07:32AM
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Categories
All
Archives
April 2023
|