Lufthansa Technik AG | Photographer: Jan Brandes
The 3D printed A-Link part inserted into an IAE V2500's anti-icing system.
Lufthansa Technik and Premium AEROTEC have announced a 3D printed metal component for the IAE-V2500 engine’s anti-icing system has received its official aviation certification from EASA.
The spare ‘A-Link’ part was developed at Lufthansa Technik’s Additive Manufacturing Center and will now be produced at Premium AEROTEC’s Varel facility.
Nine of these A-Link components fix a ring-shaped hot air duct in the engine’s inlet cowl, which is protected from ice build-up during flight operations. Due to the vibrations that occur during operation, however, the A-Links wear at the mounting holes and need to be replaced after a few years.
Having come through a complex qualification procedure, the spares will now be able to be manufactured with laser powder bed fusion. Originally, the A-Links are manufactured by forging process in titanium, allowing the parts to be exposed to temperatures up to 300°C. The additively manufactured parts are said to exhibit the ‘highest requirements in terms of material properties,’ while in terms of tensile strength, the additively manufactured A-Link is ’even superior to the original part.’
Lufthansa Technik AG | Photographer: Jan Brandes
The 3D printed A-Link part inserted into an IAE V2500's anti-icing system.
Lufthansa Technik and Premium AEROTEC believe the development and certification of this spare part to be a significant milestone, with the former extending its expertise of its EASA Part 21/J development facility to include metal 3D printed parts and the latter supplying a customer outside of the Airbus Group with printed series components for the first time.
“We have been producing components for the aircraft cabin, the vast majority of which are made of plastic, using 3D printing for years. Now, we are able to demonstrate that structurally relevant metal parts for use outside the cabin can also be manufactured additively and approved for flight operations,” commented Soeren Stark, Chief Operating Officer of Lufthansa Technik. “In this way, we have not only achieved a cost saving for the component in question, but also defined and qualified all the necessary processes for the application of this ground-breaking manufacturing method for structurally relevant metal parts.”
“Premium AEROTEC is an international pioneer and technology leader in the additive manufacturing of aerospace components. Our company has already been applying this technology in the series production of complex structural components since 2016,” added Dr. Ulrich Weber, Chief Operating Officer at Premium AEROTEC. “I am very pleased that in cooperation with Lufthansa Technik we can now once again demonstrate our comprehensive expertise in 3D printing.”
The first A-Links from the partnership will be used in the Lufthansa fleet where long-term experience with the new components is to be gained beyond certification. Lufthansa Technik and Premium AEROTEC also plan to enact additional developments to further take advantage of additive manufacturing’s capabilities. Currently, the geometry of the A-Links still largely corresponds to the original part, but the partners wish to optimise the geometry further to use less material while retaining the same strength and function.
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