US Air Force produces first 3-D printed metal part for aircraft engines
Garrett Reim By Garrett Reim5 August 2020
Tinker Air Force base maintenance personnel in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma have produced and tested the first 3-D printed metal part on a US Air Force (USAF) aircraft engine.
The service reverse engineered and reproduced an anti-ice gasket for the Pratt & Whitney TF33-P103, a turbofan engine which powers the Boeing E-3 Sentry, the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress and the Northrop Grumman E-8.
The Pentagon is pushing the US military services to experiment with using 3-D printing technologies to save time and money manufacturing replacement parts for equipment, components which typically are only needed in small lots.
https://www.flightglobal.com/fixed-wing/us-air-force-produces-first-3-d-printed-metal-part-for-aircraft-engines/139643.article
