US Navy uses 3D-printed parts for aircraft

In a series of advancements, the U.S. Naval Air Systems carried out its first demonstration flight of an aircraft that was fitted with 3D-printed parts. Tested on an MV-22B Osprey tiltrotor aircraft, the project will ensure ways to keep older aircrafts flying long after part manufacturers have shuttered, enabling cost cutting without making compromises on safety.

The part was installed in the housing (technically referred to as the nacelle), which contains the Osprey’s engine and the propeller assembly. The 3D printed part was small enough to hold in one hand, and helped in holding the engine onto the wing. It was designed and printed using a titanium/ aluminium alloy (Ti-6Al-4V). While every nacelle contains four parts typically, the test involved just the use of one of those parts, which was printed using additive manufacturing.

While technological advancements are a commonplace today, this flight was particularly significant due to its safety critical element, concluding that had it failed, it could have seriously jeopardized the tiltrotor in flight. While the 3D-printing process has worked well for building complex structures, it hadn’t really proved effective in building strong structures.

“The flight was great. I never would have known that we had anything different on board,” said MV-22 project officer Maj. Travis Stephenson, the pilot.

Speaking about the success of the flight, Navair AM integrated product team lead, Liz McMichael said, “The flight today is a great first step toward using AM (Additive manufacturing) wherever and whenever we need to. In the last 18 months, we’ve started to crack the code on using AM safely. We’ll be working with V-22 to go from this first flight demonstration to a formal configuration change to use these parts on any V-22 aircraft.”