Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. 24/7 Space News .




TECH SPACE
Saving money and the environment with 3-D printing
by Staff Writers
Chicago IL (SPX) Jun 04, 2015


Conventional manufacturing methods tend to be inefficient and wasteful. To produce a 1-kilogram bracket for an airplane, for example, it may require 10 kilograms of raw material input into the manufacturing process.

A Northwestern University team has confirmed a new way to help the airline industry save dollars while also saving the environment. And the solution comes in three dimensions. By manufacturing aircrafts' metal parts with 3-D printing, airlines could save a significant amount of fuel, materials, and other resources.

Led by Eric Masanet, the team used aircraft industry data to complete a case study of the life-cycle environmental effects of using 3-D printing for select metal aircraft parts, a technique that is already being adopted by the industry. The team concluded that 3-D printing the lighter and higher performance parts could significantly reduce both manufacturing waste and the weight of the airplane, thus saving fuel and money and decreasing carbon emissions.

Funded by the US Department of Energy's Advanced Manufacturing Office, the case study is described in a paper published in the May issue of the Journal of Cleaner Production. Runze Huang, a graduate student in Masanet's lab, is first author of the paper. Other authors include Matthew Riddle and Diane Graziano from Argonne National Laboratory.

"The airline industry is an early adopter of 3-D printing," said Masanet, the Morris E. Fine Junior Professor in Materials and Manufacturing at Northwestern's McCormick School of Engineering. "The main driver is that aircrafts require specialized lightweight metal alloys that can be very costly to process."

Conventional manufacturing methods tend to be inefficient and wasteful. To produce a 1-kilogram bracket for an airplane, for example, it may require 10 kilograms of raw material input into the manufacturing process. And, from an engineering design perspective, that final bracket may still contain much more metal than is required for the job. 3-D printing, on the other hand, requires far less raw material inputs and can further produce parts that minimize weight through better design.

"We have suboptimal designs because we're limited by conventional manufacturing," Masanet said. "When you can make something in layer-by-layer fashion, those constraints diminish."

Masanet does not anticipate a change to the crucial parts of the aircraft, such as the wings and engine, any time soon. But he does see real potential in the replacement of less flight-critical parts, such as brackets, hinges, seat buckles, and furnishings. According to the case study, 3-D printing a bracket, for example, reduced its weight from 1.09 kilograms to 0.38 kilograms. This might not seem like much, but it adds up.

"There are enough parts that, when replaced, could reduce the weight of the aircraft by 4 to 7 percent," Masanet said. "And it could be even more as we move forward. This will save a lot of resources and a lot of fuel."

If the 3-D components evaluated in the case study are used to their full potential, Masanet predicted it would greatly benefit the environment in more than one way. First, his team estimated that airplane fuel consumption could be reduced by as much as 6.4 percent, reducing both fossil fuel dependency and greenhouse gas emissions.

Second, their life-cycle analysis found that manufacturing 3-D printed components uses as little as one-third to one-half of the energy currently used in conventional methods. Manufacturers would also potentially save thousands of tons of aluminum, titanium, and nickel that are otherwise scrapped every year.

But Masanet said there is one caveat. Scientists need to improve 3-D printing technology to realize the full extent of the estimated aircraft weight savings. Limitations in the process, such as issues with surface quality, residual stresses, repeatability, and throughput, are current barriers to full-scale adoption. But Masanet hopes this case study will provide further proof that continued research efforts and funding should be focused on improving the 3-D printing process.

"If we can accelerate the necessary process improvements, then we can start reaping these savings sooner," he said. "Maybe then we can start seeing savings 10 years earlier than if we just let the technology progress at its regular rate."


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


.


Related Links
Northwestern University
Space Technology News - Applications and Research






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








TECH SPACE
3D printers get Ugandan amputees back on their feet
Kisubi, Uganda (AFP) June 2, 2015
Doctors amputated Ugandan schoolboy Jesse Ayebazibwe's right leg when he was hit by a truck while walking home from school three years ago. Afterwards he was given crutches, but that was all, and so he hobbled about. "I liked playing like a normal kid before the accident," the nine-year-old said. Now an infrared scanner, a laptop and a pair of 3D printers are changing everything for Jess ... read more


TECH SPACE
Crashing comets may explain mysterious lunar swirls

Google Lunar X-Prize meets Yoda

China, Russia plan joint landing on the Moon

NASA's LRO Moves Closer to the Lunar Surface

TECH SPACE
Building a Smarter Rover

Rover Ready for Solar Conjunction and Period of Curtailed Operations

Mars Missions to Pause Commanding in June, Due to Sun

NASA Spacecraft Detects Impact Glass on Surface of Mars

TECH SPACE
ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti returning home

Destination Mars? NASA's Flying Saucer May be the Ticket

NASA 'flying saucer' deploys partially on test

LightSail spreads its sails

TECH SPACE
Electric thruster propels China's interstellar ambitions

China Plans First Ever Landing On The Lunar Far Side

China ranked 4th among world space powers

3D printer making Chinese space suit parts

TECH SPACE
Crewmembers From ISS to Return to Earth June 11

Historic handshake between space and Earth

Astronauts delayed return from ISS set for June 11: Russia

Space Station remodelling

TECH SPACE
Angara to launch first manned rocket from Vostochny in 2023

Airbus developing reusable space rocket launcher

Recent Proton loss to push up launch costs warns manufacturer

Air Force Certifies SpaceX for National Security Space Missions

TECH SPACE
Astronomers discover a young solar system around a nearby star

Hubble in 'Oh Planet, What Art Thou?' 25th Anniversary Video

Astronomers Discover a Young Solar System Around a Nearby Star

Circular orbits identified for small exoplanets

TECH SPACE
Saving money and the environment with 3-D printing

All shook up for greener chemistry

Russain physicists from study laser beam compressed into thin filament

Lockheed completesc assembly of next-gen weather satellite for NOAA




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.