Norsk Titanium granted Airbus contract for qualification and production
Officials with Norsk Titanium, a supplier of 3D printed titanium parts for the aerospace industry, have announced a contract award from Airbus for the Qualification and Serial Production of the first parts to be manufactured utilizing wire-based Direct Energy Deposition (DED) additive manufacturing technology. The announcement was made at the Paris Air Show 2019.
“We have worked closely with Airbus over several years to demonstrate the technological maturity and the industrial readiness of our Rapid Plasma Deposition (RPD) process,” said Norsk President and CEO Michael Canario. “This contract award is structured to enable long-term, serial production immediately following qualification. Our Plattsburgh, New York facility, with the assistance of Airbus technical leadership, has been preparing for this moment and is eager to demonstrate a 21st century advanced additive manufacturing capability.”
This qualification of Airbus parts will demonstrate the suitability of the DED additive manufacturing process for aircraft structural parts. It will formalize the process by which individual parts are produced, to improve competitiveness compared to traditional manufacturing techniques, while improving the material buy-to-fly ratio which reduces waste.
The company has made a number of announcements at this year’s Paris Air Show event. Not only has Norsk revealed details about its upcoming Gen-IVL RPD 3D printer, but it has also announced two major milestones relating to its partnership with Boeing and testing of a 3D printed integrally bladed rotor (IBR).
