3D printers help cut costs at BAE Systems
Summary
According to BAE Systems, use of additive manufacturing across these applications is making production more flexible, faster and helping to reduce costs. This includes carbon-fiber-filled FDM Nylon 12CF material, which is used to create robust yet lightweight repair and development tools for the production line. 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.” BAE Systems also has found great success in identifying traditionally manufactured applications that can be enhanced, or in some cases replaced, with high-performance 3D printing materials. Adds Flanagan, “With our F900, the thermoplastic covers can be made much faster than traditionally manufactured versions and are a lot lighter and easier to move for the ground crew, so it improves efficiencies within the maintenance, repair and overhaul process. An added bonus is that they can be printed in red – the color of all ‘remove before flight’ components.” The latest F900 was purchased from Stratasys’ local partner Laser Lines, through whom BAE Systems has been a Stratasys customer since 2006.