Strata Manufacturing
Strata Manufacturing Siemens Etihad partnership
Signing the agreement earlier this week, the three-way partnership aims to revolutionise the aerospace industry.
Engineering and technology giant, Siemens has partnered with Strata Manufacturing to deliver additively manufactured aircraft interior parts for UAE’s national airline.
The first 3D-printed parts for aircraft interiors in the Middle East and North Africa will be tailored especially to Etihad Airways’ passenger planes.
Signing the agreement earlier this week, the three-way partnership aims to revolutionise the aerospace industry. 3D printing has been highlighted as the method which will help airlines improve designs, including making complex parts on demand and manufacturing discontinued parts.
Through this partnership, aircraft cabin parts will be 3D-printed as part of a pilot project. These will be the first designed, manufactured and certified in the UAE, Middle East and entire Asian continent. Siemens will be responsible for using its expertise in digitalisation and 3D printing to consult on a selection of materials, testing and the preparation of processes. The Etihad design team will work to certify the parts, while Strata will manufacture the parts in its factory.
“The biggest challenge for the use of 3D-printed parts in aviation is certification and we are ready to tackle it and make it a reality,” said Jeff Wilkinson, Etihad Airways Engineering CEO. “Etihad Airways Engineering will be using its expertise and major design certification approval to design and certify the first 3D-printed part for aircraft cabin in the UAE.”
Leveraging the success of the pilot, Siemens and Strata expect to investigate the development of a strategic three-year roadmap for the further industrialisation of additive manufacturing in the UAE, wider Middle East and North Africa. This will include the training and development of UAE citizens with the required skills to continue 3D printing’s incorporation into manufacturing processes.
Etihad
Etihad aircraft
The first 3D-printe parts for aircraft interiors in the Middle East and North Africa will be tailored especially to Etihad Airways’ passenger planes.
“Strata is proud to facilitate the application of 3D printing technology in the aerospace field in the UAE for our national carrier Etihad, through our partnership with Siemens,” said Badir Al-Olama, CEO of Strata. “Our goal is to deploy this technology on practical applications that will allow development of local knowledge building in various aspects of this technology that will lead to future innovations that can benefit the broader aerospace industry.”
Siemens, with nearly 30 years of additive manufacturing experience, continues to promote the development and industrialisation of the technology. So far, the company is the only maker of industrial equipment worldwide to offer an end-to-end portfolio for 3D printing that combines automation and digitalisation. This portfolio includes CAD software, control, automation and drive systems for additive manufacturing machinery and the comprehensive digital modelling of all processes. Siemens uses it to manufacture parts for industrial gas turbines and rail vehicles, making the design, production, and delivery of parts faster. With this partnership, the company is now looking forward to using its 3D printing expertise to accelerate 3D technologies in a new region, with the help of two aviation specialists.
“We see great opportunities for 3D printing as a disruptive force in manufacturing, and expect it to play a key role in a globally competitive, increasingly digitalised industrial landscape in the Middle East,” said Assem Khalalli, Executive Vice President, Industry Customer Services, Siemens Middle East. “This is highly relevant technology for the region’s development of an increasingly digitalised and diversified economic landscape, across a wide range of sectors. We are proud to be working with Strata and Etihad to advance 3D printing and strengthen local manufacturing here in the region.”
