Hydraulic line clamp being printed on the Origin One.
Hydraulic line clamp being printed on the Origin One.
Origin has deployed its Origin One 3D printing platform to produce a hydraulic clamp component as part of a US Air Force technical challenge.
The company has worked alongside software firm nTopology and consultancy company Stress Engineering Services in the Approval Sprints Technical Challenge of the inaugural Advanced Manufacturing Olympics. The Advanced Manufactuirng Olympics is a virtual event being held in October to solve some of the US Air Force’s ‘most significant sustainment issues’ through the application of technologies like additive manufacturing.
Engineers from Origin, nTopology and Stress Engineering Services are competing with other teams to design, analyse and manufacture production-quality USAF flight components, while also delivering a technical data package and an accelerated qualification strategy for full approval of proposed materials, machines and components.
Clamp design undergoing stress optimisation in the nTop Platform.
Clamp design undergoing stress optimisation in the nTop Platform.
Specifically, the companies have partnered to develop an F-16 hydraulic line clamp, in which they had to consider dimensional accuracy, stresses and loads, flammability compliance, temperature ratings, jet fuel exposure, vibration tolerance, hydraulic fluid exposure and engine oil exposure. After testing a variety of different materials on its Origin One platform and printing a number of test fixtures, Origin submitted a part which was designed with nTopology’s nTop Platform, additively manufactured in the flame-retardant and chemically-resistant Loctite 3955 material from Henkel, and validated by Stress Engineering Services.
This part will now be assessed alongside the submissions of other entries, with the best component design that meets the minimum specified requirements set to be installed on a one-time flight on an F-16 aircraft during the Advanced Manufacturing Olympics between October 20-23.
“There is a pressing need to rapidly deploy engineering solutions for US Air Force fleet and infrastructure sustainment,” commented Ian Muceus, Director of Government Programmes at Origin. “We are excited to be one of the companies selected to participate in this challenge and use our advanced additive manufacturing technology to help with these obsolescence and sustainment challenges by identifying innovative strategies for rapidly designing, qualifying and deploying solutions that leverage new manufacturing processes, materials and components.”
