Safran Gets Nod for 3D-printed APU Hot Section Parts

EASA certification of a Safran Power Units (SPU) 3D-printed auxiliary power unit (APU) turbine nozzle marks a major step in an effort to help the supplier differentiate itself and gain more spots on business-aviation platforms, SPU CEO Francois Tarel said.

The certification—EASA's first for a 3D-printed (aka additive manufactured) hot-section APU part, according to SPU—applies to the eAPU60 on the Leonardo AW189 helicopter. In the bigger picture, it shows that Safran’s five-year effort to develop less expensive parts is gaining traction in design, industrialization and certification.

The next step is mass production of the nozzles. SPU also plans to expand the process to other parts. “We are moving step-by-step to the core of the engine,” Tarel told AIN. The goal is to develop the capability to produce 30 percent of the parts in a clean-sheet APU design using additive manufacturing within five years.

SPU, a long-time military supplier and the former Microturbo, is providing APUs for the Bombardier Global 7000/8000 and the Dassault Falcon 5X—its first civil fixed-wing platforms. It teamed with Pratt & Whitney on the projects before taking them over in 2014.

Both APUs are made in a two-year-old San Diego, California facility, opened as part of an effort to expand the company’s civil business.