{"id":36469,"date":"2018-11-13T19:58:26","date_gmt":"2018-11-14T00:58:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digital.hbs.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/boeing-making-metal-3d-printing-take-off\/"},"modified":"2018-11-13T20:02:09","modified_gmt":"2018-11-14T01:02:09","slug":"boeing-making-metal-3d-printing-take-off","status":"publish","type":"hck-submission","link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/boeing-making-metal-3d-printing-take-off\/","title":{"rendered":"Boeing: Making Metal 3D Printing take-off"},"content":{"rendered":"

Boeing is in the \u201crocket science\u201d business, hence as the common idiom goes, it is no secret its manufacturing process is quite complex…<\/p>\n

With millions of parts that go into the making of each plane and space launch systems – Boeing is peering into new technologies to look for faster, cheaper and safer ways to produce its planes. 3d printing, also known as Additive Manufacturing (AM) is at the forefront.<\/p>\n

1. Importance: Why is 3d printing on Boeing\u2019s radar<\/em>?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Boeing\u2019s business has presented itself as an ideal opportunity for the application of 3d printing which explains the companies investment in several 3d printing startups such as Digital Alloys (multi-metal 3d printing), and Morf3D (titanium and aluminum 3d printing). So far, AM techniques have concentrated on the production of plastic and polymers, but Boeing is interested in applying the process for metallic parts as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cDeveloping standard additive manufacturing processes for aerospace components benefits both companies and empowers us to fully unleash the value of this transformative technology,\u201d says Kim Smith, VP and GM of Fabrication for Boeing Commercial Airplanes and Boeing Additive Manufacturing. [1]<\/p>\n

Aerospace parts are characterized by high mass criticality, multifunctional structures, high-end finish, low production volumes, high reliability and speed to market. Additionally, the complex function of these parts leads to complex geometries and structures that are difficult to manufacture using traditional methods. Complexity and manufacturing costs fly together and this is why the largest plane manufacturer wants to bring complexity down<\/em>. [3]<\/p>\n

Old manufacturing techniques have many disadvantages. For example subtractive techniques (where a block of material is carved to create the part) waste excess materials and require expensive assembly. Additive manufacturing allows for the creation of components in single pieces thus reducing the quantity of material needed, the number of parts [3] and ultimately, the cost of manufacturing [4]<\/p>\n

2. Short and Medium term: What\u2019s in the horizon<\/em> for Boeing?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Given the potential upside associated with this new technology, Boeing is partnering and investing heavily in new AM techniques.<\/p>\n

To look at where the company is headed<\/em>, it is useful to look at Boeing\u2019s recent activity in that space.<\/p>\n

On the one hand, it has invested directly in companies such as Digital Alloys [5] (August 2018) and Morf3d (April 2018) [6]. Digital Alloys is a young startup that has developed a technique to create parts from different metallic material. Brian Schettler, managing director of Boeing HorizonX Ventures expresses his company\u2019s objective from the acquisition: \u201cOur investment [\u2026] will help Boeing produce metal structural aerospace parts faster and at higher volume than ever before\u201d. [5]<\/p>\n

On the other hand, Boeing has partnered with players such as Thermwood [7], Oerlikon [8] and Norsk Titanium[8]. Its collaboration with Norsk Titanium has yielded the first additively manufactured titanium parts on a commercial airplane. With Oerlikon, a Swiss-based supplier, Boeing created a research agreement to develop processes for titanium powder additive manufacturing.<\/p>\n

Taking a step back it is quite clear that the company is looking to adapt AM to metallic alloys \u2013 an area where AM has yet to be proven and scaled for manufacturing purposes.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Figure 1: Boeing\u2019s recent investments in AM are concentrated in the area that is still nascent: AM using metals [4]<\/figcaption><\/figure>3. Recommendations: How to pick-up on tailwinds<\/em>?<\/strong><\/p>\n

To accelerate its R&D, it is important for Boeing to nose-dive<\/em> in the direction of a faster development. So far it has relied on a network of outside partners that covered overlapping areas of research and development. To shorten its journey to success<\/em>, Boeing should attempt to consolidate its base of companies to benefit from the cross leanings between companies.<\/p>\n

Such initiatives can take multiple shapes such as driving mergers of companies in that space or creating \u201cCenters of Excellence\u201d to share learning amongst the various partners. This would allow Boeing to ramp up faster to applying AM to its design process.
\nAdditionally, bringing the researcher efforts more closely to its design team could allow a faster iteration process that would lead to a faster development. (768 words)<\/p>\n

4. Question: How to see beyond the fog<\/em>?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Metal AM is still being tackled to be fully adapted to airplane manufacturing, areas of development include: improve surface finish, part strength and reduction of layer thickness [3].<\/p>\n

Currently AM applications in aerospace are limited to secondary non-critical parts and it will take time to further the certifications required to use AM for the critical metallic parts of airplanes.<\/p>\n

Finally, the last question that looms in the horizon is the ability of companies to adapt its design process to AM which requires a different set of skills than the ones currently used in airplane design.<\/p>\n

[1] http:\/\/additivemanufacturing.com\/2018\/04\/23\/boeing-horizonx-invests-in-3d-printing-startup-morf3d\/<\/p>\n

[2] C. W. J. Lim, K. Q. Le, Q. Lu and C. H. Wong, “An Overview of 3-D Printing in Manufacturing, Aerospace, and Automotive Industries,” in\u00a0IEEE Potentials<\/em>, vol. 35, no. 4, pp. 18-22, July-Aug. 2016.<\/p>\n

[3] G. J. Schiller, “Additive manufacturing for Aerospace,”\u00a02015 IEEE Aerospace Conference<\/em>, Big Sky, MT, 2015, pp. 1-8.<\/p>\n

[4] A. Angrish, “A critical analysis of additive manufacturing technologies for aerospace applications,”\u00a02014 IEEE Aerospace Conference<\/em>, Big Sky, MT, 2014, pp. 1-6.<\/p>\n

[5] “Boeing HorizonX Ventures Invests in High-Speed Metal 3D Printing Company Digital Alloys”, August 7, 2018,\u00a0CHICAGO,\u00a0Aug. 7, 2018\u00a0\/PRNewswire,\u00a0 URL: https:\/\/additivemanufacturing.com\/2018\/08\/07\/boeing-horizonx-ventures-invests-in-high-speed-metal-3d-printing-company-digital-alloys\/<\/p>\n

[6]\u00a0“Boeing HorizonX Invests in 3D Printing Startup Morf3D”,\u00a0CHICAGO, April 23, 2018 \/PRNewswire\/ , URL:\u00a0http:\/\/additivemanufacturing.com\/2018\/04\/23\/boeing-horizonx-invests-in-3d-printing-startup-morf3d\/<\/p>\n

[7] “Boeing and Thermwood Partnership to Demonstrate New 3D Printing Technology”, October 2018, URL:\u00a0http:\/\/additivemanufacturing.com\/2018\/10\/10\/boeing-and-thermwood-partnership-to-demonstrate-new-3d-printing-technology\/<\/p>\n

[8]\u00a0“Oerlikon and Boeing to Create Standard Processes for 3D-Printed Structural Titanium Aerospace Parts”, February 20, 2018, URL:\u00a0\u00a0http:\/\/additivemanufacturing.com\/2018\/02\/20\/oerlikon-and-boeing-to-create-standard-processes-for-3d-printed-structural-titanium-aerospace-parts\/<\/p>\n

[9]\u00a0“Norsk Titanium to Deliver the World\u2019s First FAA-Approved, 3D-Printed, Structural Titanium Components to Boeing”, April 10, 2017, URL:\u00a0http:\/\/additivemanufacturing.com\/2017\/04\/10\/norsk-titanium-to-deliver-the-worlds-first-faa-approved-3d-printed-structural-titanium-components-to-boeing\/<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Boeing is in the \u201crocket science\u201d business, hence as the common idiom goes, it is no secret its manufacturing process is quite complex…<\/p>\n

With millions of parts that go into the making of each plane and space launch systems – Boeing is peering into new technologies to look for faster, cheaper and safer ways to produce its planes. Metal Additive Manufacturing (i.e. 3D Printing) is at the forefront.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11419,"featured_media":36470,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[4102,1287],"class_list":["post-36469","hck-submission","type-hck-submission","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-3dprinting","category-boeing","hck-taxonomy-organization-boeing","hck-taxonomy-industry-manufacturing","hck-taxonomy-country-united-states"],"connected_submission_link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/assignment\/rc-tom-challenge-2018\/","yoast_head":"\nBoeing: Making Metal 3D Printing take-off - Technology and Operations Management<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/boeing-making-metal-3d-printing-take-off\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Boeing: Making Metal 3D Printing take-off - Technology and Operations Management\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Boeing is in the \u201crocket science\u201d business, hence as the common idiom goes, it is no secret its manufacturing process is quite complex... 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