Wayland Additive
From right to left, Air Chief Marshal Sir Mike Wigston, Will Richardson CEO Wayland, and Robert Weston Head of Product Wayland
Wayland Additive has announced the sale and installation of one of its Calibur3 systems at the Hilda B. Hewlett Centre for Innovation as part of No 71 Inspection and Repair Squadron, which is based at RAF Wittering in Cambridgeshire, UK.
The opening of the new centre marks the Royal Air Force’s first steps into metal additive manufacturing.
The introduction of additive manufacturing will provide a breakthrough in the RAF’s ability to design and produce its own aircraft spare sparts on demand, according to Wayland.
Will Richardson, CEO at Wayland Additive said: “The sale of our technology to the RAF is exciting for all involved. The Calibur3 has been developed to overcome common problems with metal AM, and uses the NeuBeam process which delivers on all the advantages of metal electron beam (eBeam) powder bed fusion (PBF) technology, while overcoming the troublesome issues that have traditionally limited wider adoption.”
Richardson added: “We offer the ability to process a wider palette of metal materials allowing the production of lighter and stronger parts often used in aerospace applications as well as highly wear resistant parts. For the RAF, spare parts can be produced using the Calibur3 system in days not months — negating issues related to logistically challenging supply chains — at much lower cost, and without the need to stock an array of off-the-shelf spare parts.”
Also residing in the new centre is a Nikon HTX 540 CT scanner, which is built to examine projects in minute detail; a Renishaw RenAM 500 metal 3D printer; and a Stratasys Fortus 450 polymer 3D printer. Per Wayland, these systems perfectly complement the Calibur3 machine.
In both metal and plastic, the new equipment can reproduce aircraft components with ‘microscopic accuracy and precision’. Before the 3D printed parts are fitted to an aircraft however, months of testing is in store. Wayland says that every imaginable aspect of the additive manufacturing process will be examined in scientific detail.
Wayland Additive
The Calibur3 metal AM system from Wayland being installed at the Hilda B. Hewlett Centre for Innovation
Squadron Leader Allen Auchterlonie, Officer Commanding No 71 (IR) Squadron said: “One day, the Royal Air Force will be able to manufacture structural aircraft components on main operating bases, or even in deployed locations. We’ll be able to save money, but more importantly we won’t have to wait for spares to be delivered and we can get aircraft repaired far more quickly. The opening of this facility is a landmark in this exciting journey.”
Group Captain Nick Huntley, Commander of A4 Force Elements said: “Additive manufacturing offers us enormous potential to repair and modify our aircraft quicker than ever before. Introducing any new capability into the RAF is a serious undertaking and the team at 71 Squadron have gone about this with professionalism and almost obsessive diligence. This is a genuine milestone; a real achievement and I am proud that this project has been led by the A4 Force.”
Wayland Additive says that it is focused on key application areas across industry, such as aerospace, medical, energy/power generation, motorsport/automotive, mining and mineral extraction, and military and defence sectors. The company gave TCT an update on its NeuBeam metal 3D printing technology earlier this year.
