F-22 To Use 3D Print Parts Keep Cost Low
F-22 To Use 3D Print Parts Keep Cost Low. For the first time, the US Air Force printed in 3D and installed a replacement titanium part in a Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor as part of a larger effort to reduce costs and repair time.
The US Air Force has only 186 operational F-22s and has difficulty deploying and maintaining the aircraft effectively. The management of the small fleet is particularly difficult because poachers are very expensive to maintain or repair after damage.
The metal support was installed in December by the 574th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron at Hill Air Force Base. The service expects the use of 3D printing to allow maintenance personnel to acquire spare parts in a short time, without a minimum order quantity.
The carrier was made with a powder bed fusion process that uses a laser to build the layer layer from a titanium powder. With 3D printing, new media can be requested and sent to the warehouse for installation within three days. The printed part replaced a corrosion-prone aluminum component in the cab control panel assembly that is replaced 80% of the time during maintenance, the service says.
The room will be monitored and inspected when the aircraft returns to Hill AFB for maintenance. If validated, the part will be installed on all F-22 aircraft during maintenance. According to the US Air Force at least five other metallic pieces printed in 3D must be validated in the F-22.
"Once we get to the most complicated parts, the result could be a reduction of the execution time from 60 to 70 days for the aircraft to be in maintenance," says Lewin.
The US Air Force has only 186 operational F-22s and has difficulty deploying and maintaining the aircraft effectively. The management of the small fleet is particularly difficult because poachers are very expensive to maintain or repair after damage.
The metal support was installed in December by the 574th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron at Hill Air Force Base. The service expects the use of 3D printing to allow maintenance personnel to acquire spare parts in a short time, without a minimum order quantity.
F-22 To Use 3D Print Parts Keep Cost Low
"One of the most difficult things to overcome in the F-22 community, due to the small size of the fleet, is the availability of additional pieces to support the aircraft," said Robert Lewin, director of the 574th. Aircraft maintenance squadron.The carrier was made with a powder bed fusion process that uses a laser to build the layer layer from a titanium powder. With 3D printing, new media can be requested and sent to the warehouse for installation within three days. The printed part replaced a corrosion-prone aluminum component in the cab control panel assembly that is replaced 80% of the time during maintenance, the service says.
The room will be monitored and inspected when the aircraft returns to Hill AFB for maintenance. If validated, the part will be installed on all F-22 aircraft during maintenance. According to the US Air Force at least five other metallic pieces printed in 3D must be validated in the F-22.
"Once we get to the most complicated parts, the result could be a reduction of the execution time from 60 to 70 days for the aircraft to be in maintenance," says Lewin.
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