Shaping the future of aviation
Aurora Flight Sciences, a US-based company that has been developing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for both civilian and military markets for nearly three decades, recently teamed up with engineers at Stratasys to embark on an ambitious project: building a jet-powered, remotely piloted aircraft.
The wings and fuselage were manufactured using Stratasys Fortus 3D printers using ASA thermoplastic to provide the necessary strength and stiffness. The aircraft’s production time was cut in half by using additive manufacturing, and eliminating the need for tooling significantly reduced lead times.
"The misconception that 3D printing is a prototyping technology persists. But this is not a tabletop model that will break if you touch it. This is a jet plane capable of speeds of 240 km/h!"
One of the fundamental advantages of 3D printing is the ability to design beyond surface geometry. While other airframe designs now enjoy much greater freedom, designing engineered structures for the aerospace industry is a more complex task. Stratasys’ additive manufacturing technology allowed for the optimization of the design, creating a rigid, lightweight structure while enabling the cost-effective development of a customized, mission-specific aircraft.
What challenges did Aurora Flight Sciences face and how did they use additive manufacturing to build an aircraft capable of speeds of 240 km/h?
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