HAMBURG, Germany -- Swiss technology and engineering group Oerlikon has signed a deal with German maintenance, repair and overhaul provider Lufthansa Technik to accelerate additive manufacturing processes for MRO applications in the civil aircraft sector.
The goal of the memorandum, announced today, is to further "the industrialization of additive manufacturing (AM) in the aircraft MRO industry" by taking advantage of "potential flexibility and cost savings in manufacturing, procurement, warehousing and supply chain management," the companies said in a joint statement.
The partners said Oerlikon will bring its expertise in aerospace industry manufacturing, while Lufthansa will help ensure the MRO processes are reliable, repeatable and quality-assured.
"Lufthansa Technik is active in areas such as the cabin of the future, 3D printing and Industry 4.0," said Bernhard Krueger-Sprengel, vice president of Lufthsana's Engine Services group. "We see the partnership with Oerlilkon's AM team as an exciting opportunity to accelerate Lufthansa Technik's plan of having local AM repair capabilities on a global scale."
The one-year partnership will see the companies use 3D printers to manufacture identical components at Oerlikon's facilities in Charlotte, N.C., and Barleben, Germany, and Lufthansa's shop in Hamburg. The tests will be used to determine process repeatability, with results to be shared with other industry organizations to support defining standards for the qualification and approval of components.
Oerlikon announced a similar collaboration with Boeing in February.
