3D Printing takes off in the Aviation Industry. How Additive Manufacturing is shaping Airbus’ Supply Chain.
3D Printing has the potential to emerge from a niche status to become a game changer in aircraft manufacturing by reducing production costs, increasing product performance, improving supply chain flexibility, and reducing inventory costs.
Additive Manufacturing (AM) -known as 3D Printing (3DP)- has been a successful alternative for manufacturing niche products and prototypes. For Aviation, AM has the potential to emerge from a niche status to become a game changer in aircraft manufacturing [1] by reducing production costs, increasing product performance, improving supply chain flexibility, and reducing inventory costs.
3DP is not new for aircraft manufacturers. Airbus first 3D printer was installed in 2012. Two years later, a 3DP plastic component made its first flight on an Airbus aircraft [2]. Nowadays, Airbus’ A350XWB flies with 1,000 3D-printed parts [3]. This year, Airbus installed the first titanium 3D-printed bracket on its A350 production [4]. However, Airbus believes this is just the beginning of a transformative technology for aviation.
Impact on costs, product performance and inventory management
3DP benefits are found along the entire supply chain (exhibit 1). First, it increases efficiency in raw materials usage. Since 3DP builds products by addition instead of subtraction, it produces less waste thus lowering costs. Additionally, 3DP reduces tooling costs and shortens task times. A 3D-printer can produce different parts regardless of design and complexity. Under traditional manufacturing, diverse molds and tools are required depending on product characteristics, increasing tooling costs and set up times.
The number of components per product is also dramatically reduced. A General Electric (GE) fuel nozzle consisted of 20 different components. With 3DP, that nozzle is manufactured in one piece [5], reducing assembly times and costs, but most importantly, enhancing product performance. Reducing components per product improves durability and optimizes weight without compromising reliability. For airlines, higher durability translates into lower maintenance costs and weight reduction into lower fuel consumption and carbon emissions. According to GE, its 3DP nozzle has a 5 times longer lifetime and yearly fuel savings of $1.6M per airline [6].
3DP also brings improvements in inventory management. Regulations force manufacturers to provide spare parts for long periods after aircraft sales. Airbus stocks a wide variety of spare parts for each aircraft type. The A300/310 aircraft -no longer in production-, requires spares until 2050. Currently, Airbus has 3.5 million spares in stock consuming gigantic storage space and working capital [7]. 3DP, as a “virtual warehouse”, can quickly produce spares on demand, aggressively reducing inventory costs and delivery times (exhibit 2). According to Ernst&Young [6], aerospace companies will become the 3DP earliest adapters for spare part management (exhibit 3).
Airbus and its competitors, already in the game
Aware of these benefits, Airbus has consistently invested in 3DP, closely working with suppliers to design, test and implement 3DP in its manufacturing line. Recently, Airbus awarded large contracts to 3DP providers for the A350 program (Stratasys [9]), A320 cabin (Autodesk [10]) and A320NEO engine (GE [11]). These contracts position Airbus to meet its short-term deliveries on time while keeping costs down. Airbus long-term commitment in 3DP is centered in APWorks, its subsidiary specialized in industrial AM. APWorks, born in 2013 to respond to technological trends, focuses on innovative design, materials research and serial production. APWorks aims to reduce product weight and shorten manufacturing times.
Airbus is not alone in the 3DP race. Like the A350, Boeing’s B787 Dreamliner also incorporates 3D-printed components [12]. This year, after the Federal Aviation Administration approved the first 3D-printed titanium part for commercial aviation, Boeing signed a contract with Norsk -a Norwegian 3DP supplier- to provide titanium parts for the B787 [13]. The deal is expected to bring savings up to $3M per aircraft [14]. Through HorizonX, Boeing’s newly venture capital arm, the company aspires to accelerate potential transformative manufacturing technologies such as 3DP. Additionally, China’s aircraft manufacturing program, COMAC, has already began test flights with its first commercial plane, the C919, which incorporates several 3D-printed parts [15]. To stay ahead of competition, Airbus should strengthen its 3DP R&D and not over-rely on outsourcing. By focusing on in-house digital design, Airbus could achieve a competitive advantage over Boeing and COMAC.
Simultaneously, Airbus should target the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to make sure that regulations move in line with manufacturing innovations. Airbus needs to both gain approval for new products and convince EASA to update its spare parts regulation to capitalize 3DP benefits. Finally, given that 3DP products require fewer components, Airbus should consolidate its supplier base reducing variability and putting pressure on suppliers to rapidly invest in 3DP.
Looking forward
It is worth noting that there are still concerns regarding 3DP scalability. Manufacturers have been successful in producing low volume orders for plastic parts. Introducing this technology into serial production for metal parts is a titanic challenge and will take time and money. Who should lead this investment, Airbus or its suppliers? Even if 3DP is introduced for mass production, will Airbus capitalize all 3DP cost reductions? How will the other supply chain players react, including suppliers and airlines? Should Airbus reduce aircraft prices to improve its competitive position against Boeing and COMAC?
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References:
[1] Cohen, Daniel; Sargeant, Matthew; Somers, Ken. “3-D Printing takes shape”. McKinsey & Company, (Jan. 2014). https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/operations/our-insights/3-d-printing-takes-shape
[2] Airbus Voice Team. “How 3D Printing Is Delivering Airplane Parts On Demand”. Forbes, (Jul. 2014). https://www.forbes.com/sites/airbus/2014/07/15/how-adding-a-new-dimension-to-airplanes-is-delivering-parts-on-demand/#525f648f3bc7
[3] Simmons, Dan. “Airbus had 1,000 parts 3D printed to meet deadline”. BBC News, (May 2015). http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-32597809
[4] “First titanium 3D-printed part installed into serial production aircraft”. Airbus Official Newsroom, (Sep. 2017). http://www.airbus.com/newsroom/press-releases/en/2017/09/first-titanium-3d-printed-part-installed-into-serial-production-.html
[5] Kellner, Thomas. ”An Epiphany Of Disruption: GE Additive Chief Explains How 3D Printing Will Upend Manufacturing” General Electric Reports, (Jun. 2017). https://www.ge.com/reports/epiphany-disruption-ge-additive-chief-explains-3d-printing-will-upend-manufacturing/
[6] Muller, A. and Karevska, S. “Global 3D Printing Report”. Ernst&Young, (2016).
[7] Boeger, Mareike; head of additive manufacturing solutions at Airbus. “How 3D Printing Is Delivering Airplane Parts On Demand”. Forbes, (Jul. 2015). https://www.forbes.com/sites/airbus/2014/07/15/how-adding-a-new-dimension-to-airplanes-is-delivering-parts-on-demand/#3b2513cb3d55
[8] Schrauf, S. and P. Berttram. “Industry 4.0: How digitalization makes the supply chain more efficient, agile, and customer-focused”. PWC Strategy&, (2016).
[9] Wyman, Carrie. “Airbus Standardizes on Stratasys Additive Manufacturing Solutions for A350 XWB Aircraft Supply Chain”. Stratasys Official Website, (Oct. 2016). http://blog.stratasys.com/2016/10/20/airbus-additive-manufacturing-ultem-9085/
[10] “Reimagining the future of air travel”. Autodesk Official Website, (Jun. 2016). https://www.autodesk.com/customer-stories/airbus
[11] Kellner, Thomas. “Airbus Gets 1st Production Jet Engines With 3D-Printed Parts From CFM”. General Electric Reports, (Apr 2016). https://www.ge.com/reports/airbus-gets-1st-production-jet-engines-with-3d-printed-parts-from-cfm/
[12] Rose, Megan. “Hope You Trust 3D Printers – Boeing Uses Them To ‘Print’ Parts For Its Planes”. Businessinsider, (Jun. 2013). http://www.businessinsider.com/boeing-uses-3d-printers-for-airplane-parts-2013-6
[13] “Norsk Titanium to Deliver the World’s First FAA-Approved, 3D-Printed, Structural Titanium Components to Boeing”. Norsk Titanium Newsroom, (Apr. 2017). http://www.norsktitanium.com/norsk-titanium-to-deliver-the-worlds-first-faa-approved-3d-printed-structural-titanium-components-to-boeing/
[14] Alwyn, Scott. “Printed titanium parts expected to save millions in Boeing Dreamliner costs”. Reuters, (Apr. 2017).
[15] “First Chinese Built C919 Commercial Aircraft Flies with Non-Critical 3D Printed Parts”. 3D Printing Media Network, (May 2017). https://www.3dprintingmedia.network/first-chinese-built-c919-commercial-aircraft-flies-several-non-flight-critical-3d-printed-parts/
From the essay, I learnt that one of the competitiveness of 3DP is in raw materials usage, as 3DP builds products by addition instead of subtraction. This is really to the point. I also recalled the usage of 3DP in consumer goods market. Traditionally, making molds for package is very costly and time consuming. While in recent years, the companies I worked for began to leverage 3DP to do the package prototype before we select a final package design. This enabled the brand managers and package engineers to explore more package options and do adjustment quickly before they go for the production of the mold, which always cost around half million dollars. I also think of consumer market for 3DP. The customization is the booming need for individual consumers. 3DP can make that happen by enabling every one to input own requirement and data and product staff he/she wants.
It has been remarkable to watch the cost reduction in 3D printing technologies over the last decade. Direct laser sintering of metals has grown enormously in usage and the price to manufacture these parts relative to traditional machining techniques has started to make it attractive to a broad set of industries. Startups like Desktop Metal and Markforged are working to improve the accessibility of these systems to smaller and smaller companies. It makes sense that early applications would be in the aerospace sector due to part complexity and costs, however I think today we are seeing excellent proliferation into other engineering sectors.
It is amazing that transitioning to 3D printed titanium parts could bring savings of $3M per aircraft. In reaction to your question of who should lead in the investment, I think there will be a lot of capital flowing into 3D printing ventures and development due to the wide applicability across product types. I think the burden on innovation will be shared by companies like Airbus, but also the Toyotas, Apples, and SpaceX’s of the world.