{"id":34124,"date":"2018-11-13T17:43:25","date_gmt":"2018-11-13T22:43:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digital.hbs.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/printing-the-future-of-helicopters-with-bell\/"},"modified":"2018-11-13T17:43:25","modified_gmt":"2018-11-13T22:43:25","slug":"printing-the-future-of-helicopters-with-bell","status":"publish","type":"hck-submission","link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/printing-the-future-of-helicopters-with-bell\/","title":{"rendered":"Printing the Future of Helicopters with Bell"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Additive manufacturing (AM) has been touted as a transformational technology for more than a decade, but widespread adoption has been hampered by issues of scale and cost. However, one industry that has already been significantly impacted by the rise of additive manufacturing is aerospace.<\/p>\n

Bell helicopter is the world\u2019s leading producer of rotary wing aircraft and has been an industry leader in the adoption of additive manufacturing. In 2004 Bell\u2019s management team formalized a research and development program called XworX which is housed in a hangar in Arlington, TX.[1]<\/a> The research teams there make heavy use of additive manufacturing to allow for rapid prototyping. The technology enables the teams to create parts far faster than with subtractive processes because modification can be made quickly to designs and the parts can be created on the spot. One of Bell\u2019s core products, the Osprey \u201ctilt-rotor\u201d helicopter, was recently undergoing an experimental re-design. XworX engineers were able to utilize a fused deposition modeling system produced by Fortus.[2]<\/a> The machine was able to produce parts in just two and a half days that would have taken six weeks to produce from typical aluminum casts.<\/p>\n

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Bell uses a rotational system for XworX so that engineers from throughout the company are exposed to the technology and rapid prototyping environment. This will ensure that when additive manufacturing technology advances the firm will have a competitive advantage in their knowledge base. One of the issues that is holding back advancement of AM is that if 3D printing cannot cost-effectively create a piece at scale for the aircraft then whatever the engineers design using additive technology for prototyping must be able to be produced with subtractive technology at scale.<\/p>\n

In the coming years one of the more exciting trends in aerospace AM will be the widespread adoption of parts that cannot be built with subtractive technologies. 3D printers have the capability to produce intricate sub-structures that result in materials with different heat transfer and aerodynamic properties than previously possible. A new type of printing known as Multi-Material Additive Manufacturing (MM-AM) allows for a single machine to produce printed parts that have different types of metals in gradients throughout the piece.[3]<\/a> Many pieces in aerospace design are subject to extremely high temperature and the increased ability to effect heat transfer and create porous metallic materials will allow for significant advancement in design.<\/p>\n

Bell\u2019s management team is looking at leveraging these advances to produce more and more components with additive technology. They have developed a partnership with Harvest Technologies and are now beginning to work printed pieces into their commercial aircraft rather than just in the prototyping stage.[4]<\/a> Currently they are commercially producing pieces for the aircraft\u2019s Environmental Control System with Harvest, but over the next few years Bell is hoping to expand to additive production in other internal components of the helicopter.<\/p>\n

Looking forward, I would suggest that Bell\u2019s management team invest in developing a Hybrid Additive Manufacturing (HAM) capacity to the XworX plant. HAM combines elements of additive and subtractive manufacturing to provide the benefit of reduced materials waste that additive manufacturing provides with the precision of subtractive manufacturing.[5]<\/a> A single machine now has the ability to create a component through additive means and then lathe and mill the piece in the same location or it could mill away a damaged portion of piece and then additively restore it to original specifications. As it relates to Bell this technology could be used to repair worn parts rather than replacing them. One of Bell\u2019s key competitive advantages in the market place is its customer service and refurbishment programs. The military, a major source of revenues, often sends helicopters back to Bell for testing, analysis, and repair. The ability to place a worn or damaged piece in a HAM enabled machine would cut down significantly on material waste and eliminate the need to make forecasting decisions and wait for lags in its supply chain.<\/p>\n

Some of the key questions remaining in further adoption of additive manufacturing center around the remaining challenges in additive design. Current laws and properties in physics such as Hooke\u2019s Law, Poisson\u2019s ration, and other key properties used by engineers do not hold for many additively developed materials because of the differences in the internal structures that can be created.[6]<\/a> Whether or not organizations like Bell should lead the way in conducting this research or simply wait and adopt new advances as they become market-ready is a question management will have to grapple with.\u00a0 (746 Words)<\/p>\n

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[1]<\/a> AIN Online, \u201cInside Bell\u2019s Secret XworX,\u201d https:\/\/www.ainonline.com\/aviation-news\/aviation-international-news\/2012-04-03\/inside-bells-secret-xworx, accessed November 2018.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Javelin, \u201cStratasys FDM 3D Printers Help Bell Helicopters Build Quality Prototypes,\u201d https:\/\/www.javelin-tech.com\/blog\/2015\/01\/stratasys-fdm-3d-printers-help-bell-helicopter\/, accessed November 2018.<\/p>\n

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[3]<\/a> Source: Science Direct, \u201cAdditive manufacturing of multi-material structures,\u201d Materials Science & Engineering., 2018, Amit Bandyopadhyay, accessed November 2018.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> 3D Printing Industry, \u201cEOS Technology Used to 3D Print Flight-Certified Hardware for Bell Helicopter,\u201d https:\/\/3dprintingindustry.com\/news\/eos-technology-used-to-3d-print-flight-certified-hardware-for-bell-helicopter-38136\/, accessed November 2018.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Source: Science Direct, \u201cAdditive manufacturing of multi-material structures,\u201d Materials Science & Engineering., 2018, Amit Bandyopadhyay, accessed November 2018.<\/p>\n

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[6]<\/a> Source: Science Direct, \u201cAdditive Design and Manufacturing of Jet Engine Parts,\u201d Engineering., 2017, Pinlian Han Department of Mechanics and Aerospace Engineering, accessed November 2018.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

3D printing is reshaping the way that the aerospace industry develops and produces aircraft. 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