FRONTIERS PHOTONICS


MANUFACTURING 3D PRINTED ENGINE PARTS


Certified plane part boosts 3D printing’s credibility


I


n Summer 2022, Lufthansa’s engineering subsidiary, Lufthansa Technik, in


collaboration with tier 1 aerospace supplier Premium Aerotec, received certification from the EU Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) for a 3D printed, load-bearing aircraft engine part.


This represents the first


aviation certification of an additively manufactured load-bearing metal spare part, according to the partners. The part is an A-Link for the


IAE-V2500 engine’s anti-icing system, nine of which can be used to fix a ring-shaped hot air duct in the engine’s inlet cowl, which is thus protected from ice buildup during flight operations. The vibrations that occur here during operation cause


the A-links to wear at their mounting holes, meaning that after a few years they often need replacing. Made from titanium to


withstand temperatures up to 300°C in operation, the A-Links are traditionally manufactured using a forging process, which requires moulds, jigs and the removal of excess material. By instead using laser powder bed fusion (LBPF), the partners are able to produce the links without the use of moulds and jigs, and with only a minimal amount of material removal. In terms of tensile strength, the additively manufactured A-Link is even superior to the original part.


In getting the additively


manufactured part certified, Premium Aerotec carried out a


The 3D-printed A-Link inserted into an IAE V2500 engine’s anti-icing system


large number of so-called ‘print jobs’ with test specimens using constant parameter settings. This enabled the firm to establish a constant and reliable process, and therefore prove that the high material property requirements of aviation can be met using LBPF. While the geometry of the


additively manufactured part still largely corresponds to the original part, the partners intend to optimise its geometry using


the design freedoms granted by LBPF in order to produce the part much more easily and with less material, all while retaining the same strength and function. The cooperation with


Lufthansa Technik is the first time Premium Aerotec has supplied a customer outside the Airbus Group with printed series components. The first A-Links from the cooperation will now be used in the Lufthansa fleet. l


ECO-FRIENDLY PACKAGING


Laser marking helps supermarket save 50m pieces of plastic


E


osta, a European distributor of organic fruit and vegetables, has saved 50 million pieces of plastic packaging thanks to its use of laser marking technology. The distributor adopted the


technology in 2016 to brand its produce – a technique it calls ‘natural branding’ – in an effort to reduce the use of stickers and packaging in supermarkets. Organic products are required


by law to be recognisable as such by consumers. Traditionally this has led to many supermarkets needing to package and/or sticker the organic products they sell. Natural branding instead


requires the removal of a minor amount of pigment from the outer layer of the skin or peel of a vegetable or fruit. A mark


is made without the use of additives or any form of sticker/ packaging. The method not only saves plastic and glue, but also large amounts of energy and emissions: a laser mark requires a mere fraction of the energy required for a sticker. The method has been approved by organic inspection authorities. Eosta’s kick-off using the


technology took place in Sweden, where supermarket ICA started selling avocados and sweet potatoes marked using natural branding. Eosta went on to purchase


several laser marking machines, including the 3kW LMS1 Pro CO2 laser system from Spanish company LaserFood, and has now announced that the technology has resulted in the saving of 50 million pieces


The laser marking method is chemical and plastic free


of plastic packaging. This corresponds to 500,000 kg of plastic, 216,000m of paper, and an energy saving of 2.2 million kg of CO2 emissions, equalling 19 million kilometres driven by car.


Laser Food commercialised


the ‘natural branding’ process in 2013 following the completion of a €1.3 million EU-funded


innovation project that focused on the eco-labelling of fresh produce. Other wholesalers and supermarkets have also adopted natural branding. Currently, LaserFood and EcoMark (Germany) are the main European providers of laser technology for branding fruit and vegetables. l


36 Photonics Frontiers 2023


Eosta


Lufthansa Technik


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58