Public Funding for 3T Additive Manufacturing Limited

ORSAM seeks to address the critical national infrastructure challenge of delivering cost effective, resilient, distributed timing within the telecommunications core and mobile access networks that we all depend on to deliver the emergency service network, data centre access and interconnect, Industrial IoT, financial transactions and nearly all other forms of data access, video streaming and communications. Fundamentally the modern communications network is critically dependent on local, and network level timing and synchronisation. Additive Manufacturing (AM), more commonly known as "3D printing", is a key emerging technology that can provide a step-change in the quest to make optomechanical devices lighter, less sensitive to their external environment and easier/cheaper to manufacture. AM allows the rapid, cost-effective manufacture of geometrically complex parts, featuring performance-enhancing structures that would be near impossible or extremely expensive and laborious to produce via conventional methods. So far, the application of AM within opto-mechanics has been extremely limited. Developing design methods and exploiting AM techniques for applications in optomechanical devices will be key to the future of the telecommunications and quantum industries. The current state-of-the-art in AM optical reference cavities, developed by the University of Birmingham represents a convincing proof-of-principle of the applicability of AM within the TFS sector and the potential benefits it offers, showing that an optimised, vibration insensitive cavity suitable for manufacturing via AM can be designed, simulated and constructed from Invar. Project ORSAM aims to take this further and fully exploit the benefits of AM to produce resilient and lightweight optical references for use in critical infrastructure in remote locations outside of laboratory settings. Proving the efficacy of AM for optomechanical components will open a new market within the quantum sector and extend its application into other areas such as sensing, medical imaging and analytical equipment.

Safran Power UK will work with its supply chain partners on all aspects of electrical power systems and energy useage on future technology aircraft. Scope will cover Generation, Control, Starter-Generator function and electrical actuation for More Electric Aircraft, and variants in Regional Jets, Biz Jets and advanced Rotorcraft. As the technology developed for electrical machinery and associated control electronics is intrinsically modular, scaleable and flexible, the partnership's work programme will also address aspects of Electrical Hybrid Propulsion for Vertical and Conventional take-off-and landing vehicles. The partnership will develop and invest in the UK industrial capability for these future market segments.

Additive manufacturing provides a great amount of freedom to design and build very complex parts, unfortunately the more complex the part geometry externally and internally the more difficult it is to inspect. Due to this part complexity, the general inspection practice has relied mainly on digital and computed tomography (CT) X-ray non-destructive testing (NDT) methods, and limited work has been performed on other methods. Thermography and resonance drift methods are emerging as game changing for AM inspection. These methods have potential for faster scanning, are less expensive and they have no health and safety issues that X-ray methods have. In addition when combined they have the potential to cover both macro and micro scale defects. Finally, XCT has a limited capability on micro cracks, where resonance drift methods are expected to be capable. The aim of RASCAL project is to develop a fast and economical inspection system for AM parts, possessing a comprehensive defect detectability by exploiting data fusion from both NDT methods, but depending on inspection needs RASCAL's modularity allows to upscale/downscale the system's capability. Sentencing the parts will be performed in an automated manner by evaluation of user defined inspection requirements with NDT data. Finally this project will possess connectivity both downstream and upstream allowing traceability and/or process modifications. Key objectives: 1. Reduce inspection costs 2. Production connectivity feeding upstream/downstream 3. Comprehensive inspection 4. Scalable inspection to adapt to user needs

MEGCAP will re-invent the thermal management of the interior of aircraft starter-generator electrical machines. Project outputs will be equipment and products with higher efficiency, lower self-heating – leading to cooler and smaller equipment. The project will also advance the control electronics. Safran will conduct the R&T work jointly with UK based supply chain partners. Ferranti already undertake build to print work for Safran on flight standard electrical controls. Barden manufacture many of Safran’s specialised rolling element bearing for electrical machines. TE Connectivity supply electrical interconnects for data and power. All of these areas – and some that are technologically adjacent – will be addressed by the MEGCAP partnership. Two suppliers new to aerospace will use the advanced technologies they work on develop their future business. Both specialists in Additive Manufacturing (AM), 3T and CRDM – will undertake work on new materials and on the manufacture of conventional materials in novel new shapes. MEGCAP will deliver a strong and distinct cluster of technological capability in the supply chain for both electrical machines and their electrical controls.

High performance mouldable plastics like PEEK/PEK and others in the polyaryletherketone family (PAEK), and their engineered composites are materials of the future and of particular interested to airframe makers as a metal replacement, being 40 -70% lighter than steel, titanium or aluminum. PAEK composites are also highly corrosion resistant, heat tolerant to 250oC+, don’t burn, and can compete mechanically. Additive Manufacture (AM) of PAEK polymers and composites is now possible, where if this production route could be matured and perfected, AM PAEK would be exploited far more extensively in future aircraft. Similarly to metals AM, which is now an established and indispensable tool in airframe design and manufacture, the usage of PAEKs would grow. This aim is to solve the well identified technical barriers hindering AM-PAEKs exploitation, and thereby make the process, reliable, cost competitive and a common-place fabrication route, available throughout the aerostructures supply chain. This initiative brings together the entire materials & processing supply chain, including polymer makers/suppliers through to parts manufacturers and post-processors as well as end-users.

Within the aerospace sector, aftermarket services account for over 50% of revenue generated by aero engine manufacturers (Rolls-Royce Annual Report, dated February 2015). Central to this is the ability to repair high value manufactured components. The use of additive technologies is increasingly being developed and exploited on new part manufacture, but this programme will lead to the development of additive technology for repair of components. The intent of this project is to remove damage from high value components and then use additive technologies to restore component geometry and material performance. Material development will be required to ensure the integrity of the repairs and novel joining techniques will be explored as part of this project. A project consortium comprising of members from the UK such as University of Sheffield, 3T RPD, Stork Technical Services (subcon), SMaRT (sub con) and Birmingham University (subcon) who have unique areas of expertise has been assembled to address this issue over a period of 3 years, at a cost of £3.57M.

Additive Manufacturing (AM) has the potential to revolutionise the design, production and supply of parts, but exploitation has been limited. A major challenge for industry is to understand the true capability of the new techniques - especially making comparisons between machine platforms. The ANVIL project will overcome this issue, by bringing together key end-user sectors and AM experts to develop a standard way of assessing the capability of metal powder bed fusion processes. This approach will be used to compare the latest machines and the information generated will form the basis of an interactive design for AM guide. Application demonstrators will be designed using this guide and manufactured to provide case studies for promoting the effective use of AM technology. An AM-OLR (On-Line Resource) will be established to disseminate the findings and encourage sharing of data across the UK AM sector.

Additive Manufacturing (AM) has the potential to provide bespoke one-off designs without the need for expensive tooling. Despite the freedom of design from using Laser Sintering (LS), powder colour choice is restricted to black, white and natural polyamide colours. Parts can be dyed, but colours come only from a vivid palette, can vary across location on the part and between batches, and only colour the surface of the part. The aim of this project is to develop and test batch coloured components using Laser Sintering. The innovative nature of this work is the approach to colour batches of powder for individual builds using customer specified colours.

One of the ‘dirty secrets’ of Additive Manufacturing (AM) technologies is the necessity of support structures to allow the manufacture of components. Support structures are required to build unsupported geometric features on the part. The reality is that AM does not allow complete design freedom, as supports may need to be built, which cannot be removed post production. Current support software is un-intelligent and un-automated, allowing only highly skilled operators familiar with the AM technology, able to setup a build. This project aims to deliver software that can automatically generate intelligent scaffolds that supply only the support that is necessary, whilst allowing easy removal of both the part and any loose powder. The software developed in this project will move the AM process away from the intuition of a skilled operator, closer to “print from CAD” manufacture.

Additive Manufacturing (AM) can produce complex metal parts in low volumes. Unfortunately, AM inherently produces a stepped surface finish and metal parts produced by powder bed fusion processes can also have a granular texture. Parts are generally shot blasted to mask the effect of the stepped surface. Machining is only used in localised areas, due to the cost and difficulty in accessing complex part geometry. Automated abrasive finishing methods have shown significant promise but these offer poor control of part accuracy and in some cases can also be expensive/slow to apply. In the IMPULSE project a rapid automated finishing process, giving precise control of material removal, will be developed. This novel approach is based on robotically controlled non-contact methods using laser “polishing” and electrochemical machining. Using two complementary methods will provide maximum flexibility in terms of materials, part geometry and final surface finish

This project brings together partners with expertise in additive manufacturing, glass technology and orthopaedic implants. The aim is to develop the next generation of coatings for orthopaedic implants such as hip replacements. The new combination glass and metal coatings will have better mechanical stability and faster integration with bone thus improving long-term clinical performance and reducing the revision rate. This will deliver a significantly better clinical outcome for patients and savings for the health service. The technology developed during this project has the potential to transform the manufacture of orthopaedic implants and has applications in other fields requiring specialist combinations of glass and metal.

Blagdon Actuation Research Ltd and 3T RDP Ltd are collaborating to promote the entry into production of an innovative hydraulic servo valve technology. The programme is focused on providing foundation engineering knowledge and process improvements for an Additive Manufacturing (AM) process. The project includes the generation of pressure fatigue data in both small samples, and for complete hydraulic manifolds. This data will be used to optimise the valve technology which will undergo representative environmental and strength testing.

Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) of plastic components has become an increasingly established tool for the creative industries. Additive Manufacturing (AM) is a digital technology that it is progressively being integrated with the internet, allowing consumers to design and personalise their own products. Despite the freedom of design using AM, polymer choice of colour is restricted to black, white and natural polymer colours. Although parts can be dyed, they are limited to vivid colours and only colour the surface of the parts. The aim of this project is to provide customers with not only a choice of colour on a batch to batch basis but also the potential for a customer to choose the shade of colour they require.

Additive Manufacture (AM) has the potential to redefine design rules, use novel materials in unique structures, and provide components impossible to make by other methods. 3TRPD is the largest UK bureau supplying AM products to UK industries using Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS). All AM machines currently are open loop, which can produce process variance of components. The key objective and focus of this feasibility study is to establish a method to monitor the process from the part under production. Advances in this technique will have applications in industrial sectors ranging from aerospace components to medical devices.