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3D-printed tool for building aircraft nabs Guinness World Record

A 3D-printed trim-and-drill tool, developed by researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) for Boeing, has received the title of largest solid 3D-printed item by Guinness World Records.

Official measurement of the 3D-printed trim tool co-developed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory and The Boeing Company exceeded the required minimum size to achieve the Guinness World Records title of largest solid 3D-printed item.

 

 

 

 

ORNL printed the lower cost trim tool in only 30 hours using carbon fiber and ABS thermoplastic composite materials. The tool will be tested in building the Boeing 777X passenger jet. At 17.5 ft long, 5.5 ft wide, and 1.5 ft tall, the 3D-printed structure is comparable in length to a large sport utility vehicle and weighs approximately 1,650 lb.

The tool will be used to secure the jet's composite wing skin for drilling and machining before assembly.

VIDEO: ORNL printed the trim tool in 30 hours using carbon fiber and ABS thermoplastic composite materials.

"The existing, more expensive metallic tooling option we currently use comes from a supplier and typically takes three months to manufacture using conventional techniques," said Leo Christodoulou, Boeing's director of structures and materials. "Additively manufactured tools, such as the 777X wing trim tool, will save energy, time, labor, and production cost and are part of our overall strategy to apply 3D-printing technology in key production areas."

The trim tool will be used in building Boeing's 777X passenger jet.

 

 

[From left] Guinness World Records judge Michael Empric awarded the title of Largest solid 3D-printed item to ORNL Laboratory Director Thom Mason, Leo Christodoulou from The Boeing Company, ORNL's Vlastimil Kunc, and Mike Matlack from Boeing.

 

 

 

 

During an awards ceremony held at DOE's Manufacturing Demonstration Facility at ORNL, where the component was 3D printed on the lab's Big Area Additive Manufacturing (BAAM) machine, Guinness World Records judge Michael Empric measured the trim tool, proved it exceeded the required minimum of 0.3 m³, or approximately 10.6 ft ³, and announced the new record title.

After ORNL completes verification testing, Boeing plans to use the additively manufactured trim-and-drill tool in the company's new production facility in St. Louis and provide information back to ORNL on the tool's performance.

Production of the 777X is scheduled to begin in 2017, and first delivery is targeted for 2020.

"Using 3D printing, we could design the tool with less material and without compromising its function," said Vlastimil Kunc, leader of ORNL's polymer materials development team.

The Big Area Additive Manufacturing (BAAM) printer, co-developed by ORNL and Cincinnati Inc., was used to print the giant part. The machine comes in two sizes: big (workpieces 11.6 ft x 5.4 ft x. 2.83 ft) and big Bertha (workpieces 20 ft x 7.5 ft x 6 ft). The extruder for the machine is capable of producing a material feedrate up to 80 lb/hr. The motion system provides an absolute positioning accuracy of +/-0.005 in.

Other ORNL/Cinicinnati Inc. projects using BAAM: 3D-printed Shelby Cobra

Also see the Designfax article, "3D-printed Shelby Cobra born from giant additive manufacturing machine, raised in six weeks," one of Designfax's most popular articles of 2015.

Source: ORNL

Published October 2016

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