BAE Systems has ordered another F900 3D printer from Stratasys to add to the three it already operates. The aerospace giant has been a Stratasys customer since 2006, and it bought its latest printer via local partner Laser Lines.
The printers operate at the BAE Systems site at Samlesbury in Lancashire, where the company is creating a “Factory of the Future” that embraces a range of "disruptive" technologies and processes to improve productivity and drive down the costs of manufacturing.
Fused deposition modeling (FDM) 3D printers from Stratasys already have come into use for the production of a variety of aerospace-related items, ranging from design verification prototypes through manufacturing tools to end-use parts. Employing additive manufacturing has allowed BAE Systems to achieve “significant cost and lead time reductions.”
While the new 3D printer will increase additive manufacturing capacity, it will also help in the exploitation of new materials, including the carbon-fiber-filled FDM Nylon 12CF material, which BAE uses to create robust and lightweight repair and development tools.
“We can rapidly 3D print one-off parts for new products, replace tools more easily and cost-effectively, and maintain production operations when hardware is delayed,” said Greg Flanagan, additive manufacturing lead at BAE Systems-Air. “If supply chains become disrupted, having this production power in-house also enables us to be more agile as a business and continue to best serve the needs of our customers.”