While 3D printing is finding its way into more avenues of use in industrial manufacturing, researchers at Carnegie Mellon are directing their additive manufacturing knowledge towards improving design in the aerospace industry.
Through a $970,000 grant from America Makes, engineering researchers are looking at how improvements in manufacturing and software can change the way aircraft core structures are designed and built.
Cores are the internal scaffolds and frames that are wrapped in high-performance outer skin materials to form aerodynamic structures - like an airplane’s wings. The cores need to be strong enough to handle the pressure of being wrapped in material, but simple enough that they can be removed after the manufacturing process is complete and the outer skin is in place. This saves weight in the aircraft part.
The researchers and their industry partners are working on developing software that will optimize both designs and materials used in manufacturing these components.
“Because the current process uses traditional fabrication methods, it is labor intensive and expensive,” said Levent Burak Kara, professor of mechanical engineering and one of the project leads.
“We want to take advantage of the design space enabled by additive manufacturing with a computational design tool that will identify solutions that humans have not yet conceived. This will take topology optimization to a whole new level,” Kara added.
The software being developed will integrate with existing CAD platforms, allowing the new designs to be used across the industry. This would lead to reduced design time, more efficient and aerodynamic shapes, as well as cores built using 3d-printed lightweight polymer materials that can be easily dissolved, broken up or not removed at all.
“Optimizing this process will greatly decrease life-cycle energy costs in the aerospace industry, resulting in thousands to millions of dollars in savings,” said Kara.
The Carnegie Mellon team is working with research partners from across the aerospace industry, including Automated Dynamics Corporation, Aurora Flight Sciences, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, Siemens Corporate Technology, Stratasys and United Technologies Research Center.
The software will also be the center of an educational program intended to update the current and future workforce in aerospace engineering. The project team is developing learning materials for students, which will culminate in a hands-on competition to engage both engineering students and those already in the industry.
For more information, visit the Carnegie Mellon Mechanical Engineering website.