3D Systems Corp. announced just yesterday that Airbus in the United Kingdom purchased an SLA® 7000 system to produce components for wind tunnel testing at its operations in Filton, Bristol. The purchase of an SLA 7000 system will be used to create larger models with tighter tolerances and high quality surface finish in the wind tunnel.

"My background for the last 5 years has been on the test side where we are always under pressure to meet deadlines," said Martin Aston wind tunnel domain manager for Airbus in Filton. "We were already using 3D Systems technology through a third party service bureau and were aware of some of the advantages of stereolithography. If we are able to build models more quickly we can enter the design cycle later, which gives the aerodynamicist more time to think before committing to a test. We realized over a year ago, rather than outsourcing our prototyping and model production, that we needed to invest in new technology of our own if we were going to improve our cycle times without lowering our standards."

"We are currently using the SLA 7000 system for our Flight Physics which encompasses the aerodynamic groups who submit new geometries for testing in the tunnel. Typical components include leading edge and trailing edge configurations, flap tracks, pylons and nacelles. Having our own SLA system on-site allows us to react more quickly and more cost effectively to our bottom line," continued Aston. "We now try designs we never would have done before because we have the technology on-site. Effectively we can think of an idea, put it on the system to build overnight or over a weekend and test it the next day. If the design doesn't work we just repeat the process. To do that through a service bureau would be almost impossible as the typical turnaround time is four days."

Airbus has started experimenting with models that they would never have attempted or thought possible previously. Producing plastic models using the SLA system enables Airbus to cater for all of the shapes and curves of aircraft components. Geometric form and dimensional stability has been dramatically improved, which means the test data is more accurate. By having the technology on-site a deeper understanding of the process has been invaluable. This knowledge allows the project coordinator to define and control specific attributes of the geometry by understanding the technology. They can then communicate these constraints with the operator and part quality can be maintained.

"We no longer have the delay of waiting for returns if we need to build a new iteration, we simply re-run it on the SLA system," stated Aston.

FMI: www.3dsystems.com