The Royal Air Force (RAF) has just revealed an interesting partnership with Rolls-Royce, involving the use of additive manufacturing. Together, they are taking in the Tornado 2 Tempest program, which involves recycling spare parts from obsolete fighter aircraft and transforming them into 3D printable powders. After a cleaning and atomization process, the powder can then be used to design components for the new Orpheus engine, part of the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) program. The recycled parts were chosen for their titanium content, a metal particularly sought-after in the aerospace sector for its lightness, strength, low toxicity and high resistance to corrosion.
Many industries are looking to reduce not only their ecological footprint, but also their dependence on complex supply chains. Additive manufacturing could be the perfect tool to alleviate some of these challenges, since it enables local, on-demand production while reducing the amount of waste produced. What’s more, the technology can also reduce the weight of imagined parts, while increasing their strength and lowering the final cost. On paper, then, it looks like the perfect technique for creating tomorrow’s aircraft. In practice, it’s more complex, but developments are promising.
Some components of Tornado fighter jets are atomized into metal powders suitable for additive manufacturing.
Rolls-Royce Uses Additive Manufacturing to Design Orpheus
Rolls-Royce has been working on its Orpheus range for some time now: these are small, relatively affordable turbofan engines for the defense market. Above all, this project has enabled the company to introduce new working practices and test other production methods, such as additive manufacturing. Tests already carried out by the British company have been carried out on engines including 3D-printed parts. The ultimate aim is to be able to design all major components using additive manufacturing.
And participation in the Tornado 2 Tempest project marks a new stage in this ambition. The main idea is to use broken parts and components from the British Ministry of Defense (MOD), and to recycle the metals that make them up. We’re talking mainly about aluminum, steel and titanium.
By atomizing these parts into powders, the teams were able to obtain materials for metal additive manufacturing. For example, Rolls-Royce has produced a nose cone and compressor blades from old jet engine compressor blades.
Thomas Powell, DRDT’s Strategic & Submarine Recycling Senior Commercial Manager, concludes: “Not only can this solution reduce the costs and burden of sourcing critical and high-value metals, but it can also produce components that are lighter, strong and longer lasting than those made through traditional forging techniques, thereby further enhancing the MOD’s overall sustainability and effectiveness.”
The project teams – a total of 80 people – installed the 3D-printed nose cone on a test engine, and the results were very positive. They have demonstrated that the part is safe and reliable. It now remains to be seen whether other engine components will be 3D printed from recycled powders. In the meantime, you can find out more HERE.
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*All Photo Credits: Royal Air Force