Wayland Additive highlights RAF collaboration at Formnext 2025
At Formnext 2025, Wayland Additive, headquartered in Huddersfield, UK, has announced it will highlight its collaboration with the UK Royal Air Force (RAF), which saw the RAF install a Calibur3 Additive Manufacturing machine – built on the company’s proprietary Electron Beam Powder Bed Fusion (PBF-EB) Additive Manufacturing technology NeuBeam – in 2022. The partnership has developed to the point where, as of this year, a Ti64 component produced on that machine is now flying on a Typhoon aircraft.
“Our message at Formnext this year is clear: NeuBeam is not a science experiment, it’s industrially viable and delivering results,” stated Peter Hansford, Chief Revenue Officer at Wayland Additive. “The installation of our technology at the RAF facility and the subsequent flight qualification of a critical titanium part are major milestones, not just for us, but for the broader AM industry. It proves that NeuBeam is more than disruptive theory. It’s trusted to perform where failure is not an option.”
Hansford went on to note the technology’s ability to handle challenging materials which may not be suitable for use with other PBF-EB Additive Manufacturing technologies. The Active Charge Neutralisation (ACN) process, which occurs during manufacturing, is designed to eliminate the need for wide-area sintering. In turn, this reportedly enables the use of a broader material palette, greater design freedom and reduced post-processing.
Wayland will also use Formnext 2025 to debut its material datasheets for Inconel 718, showcasing ongoing R&D into an in-demand alloy for aerospace and energy applications.
Visitors to the company’s booth (12.0, B139) will be able to explore the RAF case study and discover how the company’s technology is used to produce military-grade components via rapid, localised spare part production. The booth will also feature an in-situ Calibur3 as well as a range of parts in various materials. The company’s Head of New Technologies & Founding Member will give a presentation demonstrating use cases of NeuBeam technology.
