Aircraft Philipp Group Invests in Wire Arc Technology To Explore Additive Manufacturing of Aerospace

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Additive manufacturing parts created by Aircraft Philipp.

www.aircraft-philipp.com

Aircraft Philipp Group Invests in Wire Arc Technology To Explore Additive Manufacturing of Aerospace Parts

By Michael C. Gabriele, ITA Freelance Writer

The Aircraft Philipp Group, Üebersee, Germany, is navigating a course in Europe to develop aerospace components via the additive manufacturing process. During the last two years, the company has invested $4.4 million (3.7 million Euros), gearing up for production of structural fuselage parts.

A company spokesman pointed out that the company’s additive manufacturing activities “are still in a development stage. We are not producing any serial (commercial) parts right now. We are planning to introduce first serial parts based on direct energy deposition and wire arc technology in 2022.”

Aircraft Philipp (website—English translation: www.aircraft-philipp. com) uses both metal powder and wire for its additive manufacturing operations. “Regarding powder, we are using titanium (Grade 5 TiAl6V4), Steel and Aluminum. For wire arc technology we are using titanium Grade 5 (TiAl6V4) and Inconel 614. We are also planning to use aluminum in future.” For powder, the company uses two EOS M290 machines on its factory floor. A GEFERTEC Arc605 machine based on FRONIUS wire arc technology (TPSI) is used for wire. Downstream production operations for additive manufactured parts include machining, surface treatment, and painting.

Analyzing Additive Manufacturing Technology, Cost/Performance

As it continues to ramp up its additive manufacturing efforts, with a near-term target of commercial production, the spokesman said Aircraft Philipp closely monitors developments in leading-edge technology for materials and equipment. However, the company also carefully weighs the cost/benefit return on investment to determine commercial viability. Despite the widespread interest in the potential of additive manufacturing, it remains a field that is still unfolding and in transition.

“We are observing and analyzing permanently all new technologies,” he said. “Most important for introducing new additive manufacturing production machines is a positive business case. As soon as we see a chance of producing parts with better economic conditions by using additive manufacturing, we will implement this technology.”

Aircraft Philipp’s cautious approach on the commercial viability of additive manufacturing technology is a point well taken. Art Kracke, the president of AAK Consulting LLC, in previous interviews with this publication, said that when it comes to assessing the potential future growth of the titanium powder metal sector, it’s all about identifying a “critical business inflection point. It’s important to remember that additive manufacturing is many technologies, not one thing. Additive manufacturing is an industry, not a single process.” Kracke has been involved in the titanium industry for over 40 years.

The Aircraft Philipp spokesman added that a long-term goal for the company is to do business in North America. According to information posted on its website, the Aircraft Philipp Group describes itself as“an owner-managed, medium sized group company with over 50 years of experience in manufacturing ready-to-install metal components and assemblies for the aviation and aerospace industry. We are specialized in the machining of aluminum, titanium and other alloys used in aeronautics.”

Aircraft Philipp Leads Regulus Consortium in Germany

As a complement to its internal business activities, Aircraft Philipp Group is leading a consortium known as “Regulus,” funded by the German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy, to develop and implement a process chain for the resource-saving production of large structures made of titanium materials. As detailed in an online press statement from the Munich-Germany based Institute for Machine Tools and Industrial Management (www.mw.tum.de/en/iwb/regulus), Regulus is a consortium to establish a “process chain” consisting of additive and metal-cutting manufacturing processes for the resource-efficient production of large-volume aerospace structural components made of titanium alloys.

The increasing use of high-performance materials, such as new generations of titanium alloys “are difficult to machine in the aerospace industry and represent a particular challenge in the manufacture of large-volume structural components. The previous production of the components by machining from solid material leads to an immense waste of material with a degree of machining of more than 85 percent,” the press statement said. “In addition, there are high tool costs due to the heavy wear and tear associated with the machining of high-strength materials. This leads to very high manufacturing costs.”

The Regulus program seeks to develop a process chain for the resource-saving production of large structures made of titanium materials, according to the institute. “The focus of the approach is arc-based additive manufacturing of raw contours in order to reduce the degree of machining. This is intended to reduce the current use of materials by 90 percent.”

Aircraft Philipp pointed out the mission of Regulus is to understand the microstructural development during wire-arc welding in additive manufacturing. “The aim is to produce a target window in which the process creates stable and recurring results, which can then be transferred to serial (commercial) production. By using wire-arc production, it’s possible, unlike selective laser melting or electron beam melting processes, to produce at significantly higher application rates and in higher volumes. Another advantage of this near-net-shape production technology lies in the saving of various further processing steps during milling, like roughing.”

Boeing Commercial Aircraft, Seattle, and the Technical University of Munich, Germany, are among the associated partners in the Regulus effort.

Prototypes for Airbus Helicopters

Founded in 1998 as a start up in Uebersee in Southern Bavaria, Aircraft Philipp Uebersee GmbH & Co. KG, company engineers used their expertise in the Computer Aided Design and Manufacturing CAD/CAM to produce prototype parts for Airbus Helicopters. Based on those initial efforts, the company cultivated a business strategy produce aerospace components.

Today Aircraft Philipp has a head count of 250 employees in Germany and Austria, with an additional 400 employees associated with strategic partners in India (SANSERA) and Israel (BAZ Airborne). In 2019 posted a turnover (revenues) of about $61.5 million (52 million Euros).

In 2012 Aircraft Philipp decided to widen its manufacture portfolio and invested in 3D printing technology at its facility in Uebersee. Four years later it built a new site in Salzburg, Austria, to enhance the focus of this technology. In n 2017 the company expanded its additive manufacturing capabilities in the fields of direct energy deposition to focus the production of titanium parts.