RAF Fighter Jets have flown for the first time using parts made by 3D printers it has been reported by The Mail Online. BAE Systems said that metal components were successfully used on the company’s flight from Warton Airfield in Lancashire in late December 2013. Engineers are using 3D technology to design and produce parts which could cut the RAF’s maintenance and service bill by £1.2m over four years. Mike Murray, head of airframe integration at BAE Systems, said: ‘You are suddenly not fixed in terms of where you have to manufacture these things.’BAE Systems is working at RAF Marham, Norfolk, to engineer ready-made parts for four squadrons of Tornado GR4 aircraft, including protective covers for cockpit radios and guards for power take-off shafts. Some of the parts cost less than £100 to produce. ‘You can manufacture the products at whatever base you want, providing you can get a machine there, which means you can also start to support other platforms such as ships and aircraft carriers.’
3D Printing in Industry
BAE Systems are not the only company making significant improvements via the introduction of 3D printing technology. The driving factor behind this sudden uptake of 3D technology can be largely attributed to the fact that prices of 3D printers have plummeted in recent years. Some 3D printer models are now being sold for as little as £500 and very capable ones available for under £1,000. Though they are yet considering “mass market,” more and more manufacturers are bringing 3D printing technology in-house to lessen the time constraints and costs associated with traditional physical prototyping. Design teams can now quickly create physical prototypes with little disruption to the development process and do so right in their offices. These rapid prototyping (RP) machines, called 3D printers, are capable of producing parts and products that are very low cost and high enough quality to provide design teams with not only working models, but also “one-off” designs and limited small production runs of actual products. The impact of putting 3D printing capabilities in the hands of CAD users is significant. Never before have CAD professionals had the ability to “self-produce” products. They would concentrate on the design of the product, and then hand it off to the shop floor for manufacturing or outsourced prototyping companies, increasing their time to market. In the shorter term, 3D printing will provide manufacturers with a more time- and cost-effective way to design and deliver the increasingly customized products that customers are demanding of them. The advent of 3D printing will also have a significant impact on the manufacturing industry by opening up new markets and disrupting existing ones by enabling nearly anyone who can create 3D CAD models to become a manufacturer. Potentially even allowing customers to download a license to print purchased products instantly. With the main factor now being having a capable in-house 3D CAD system, in particular one that has the ability to make late stage design changes, it is likely to open up new and exciting markets for industry.