U.S. Air Force, GE Additive Reach Next Milestone in Pacer Edge Program
Phase III of the program tackles the Air Force’s sustainment behemoth of ‘cold starts’ head-on.
Share
Bellcrank and cross shaft arm, metal 3D printed in colbalt-chrome on a GE Additive M2 Series 5 machine. (Photo Credit: GE Additive)
Building on the earlier success of the Pacer Edge program, the U.S. Air Force (USAF) and GE Additive have entered Phase III of its metal additive manufacturing (AM) pathfinder to showcase the application of AM in aerospace. Phase III tackles the USAF’s sustainment issue of ‘cold starts’ head-on.
Aircraft engine components that are considered cold starts are parts that take over 300 days to procure. It is estimated that the USAF has over 800 engine cold starts each year.
“The first prioritity for the USAF and GE team has been to create digital 3D technical data packages (TDPs) for hard-to-procure, obsolete cold start parts and deliver four airworthy, near-net castings,” says Alexa Polites, USAF Pacer Edge program manager, GE Additive. “These TDPs will eventually mean that part obsolescence will be a thing of the past.”
Over the coming years, the joint USAF and GE team plans to create at least five TDPs, increasing in technical complexity, across the USAF’s sustainment platforms.
“The teaming of GE and the USAF legitimizes utilization of additive manufacturing to address critical needs of the aging aircraft that are currently unsupported within the existing supply chain,” says Zack Miller, chief, advanced manufacturing program office, Air Force Rapid Sustainment Office.
Phase III has already successfully printed two components, a bellcrank and a cross shaft arm, in cobalt-chrome on a Concept Laser M2 Series 5, located at GE Additive‘s facility in Cincinnati, Ohio.
“Pacer Edge is accelerating the USAF’s wide spread adoption of 3D metal printing to organically solve supply chain shortages and realizing its promise to improve warfighter support by drastically reducing lead times and creating additional sourcing options,” says Beth Dittmer, chief, propulsion integration division, Tinker Air Force Base.
Work has also progressed on additional components using Alloy 718. The cornerstone of the program is the creation of organic capabilities at Tinker Air Force Base (AFB) in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. One way to achieve that is by ensuring that intellectual property generated within the Pacer Edge program is owned by the U.S. Government. This will enable the USAF and Department of Defense to print these parts themselves in the future. The program remains on schedule with the goal to have airworthy production castings delivered to the USAF in Spring 2022.
Related Content
-
Quadrus: Powder Management Tactics for Tungsten Rhenium and Other AM Alloys
The expert in additive manufacturing of high-value parts for the Defense Department often must change from one exotic material to another in its powder bed machines. Cleaning is a core competency. Here are lessons of this company’s system for working with an ever-changing mix of 3D printed alloys.
-
The Cold Spray Solution to the Casting, Forging Supply Chains
Startup HAMR Industries performs additive manufacturing work at Neighborhood 91 that provides an alternative to traditional casting and forging. Success so far has led to redefining the limits of its additive equipment.
-
Big Metal Additive: The Difference Between a Shape and a Part Is Quality
Preparing to scale directed energy deposition to ongoing full production is not a technological challenge: DED is ready. But it is an organizational challenge, says the company founder. Here is what it means to implement a quality system.
