Lufthansa Technik establishes Additive Manufacturing Center
October 15, 2018
A metal additively manufactured aerospace component (Courtesy Lufthansa Technik)
Lufthansa Technik, Hamburg, Germany, has established a new Additive Manufacturing Center with the aim of expanding the competence and experience the company has gained using the technology to-date. The company stated that, in the highly weight-conscious field of aircraft, the lower weight of parts produced using effective design for AM makes the technology very attractive.
Dr Aenne Koester, Head of the AM Center, stated, “The new AM Center will serve as a collaborative hub where the experience and skills that Lufthansa Technik has gained in Additive Manufacturing can be bundled and further expanded. The aim is to increase the degree of maturity of the technologies and to develop products that are suitable for production.”
Lufthansa noted that the team at the centre will look to address those challenges posed by adoption of a new technology in a highly-regulated, safety-critical industry such as commercial aircraft and its maintenance, repair and operation. The team comprises Lufthansa Technik experts and AM specialists from numerous industry partners and research institutions.
Currently, Lufthansa Technik is involved in a number of cooperations, including with Oerlikon AM. With Oerlikon, the company is enhancing the understanding of process repeatability, a key element of industrialisation and certification. This collaboration also aims to drive the industrialisation of AM forward, as the study results will be shared with relevant industry bodies to support defining standards for the qualification and approval of aircraft components.
