AM Global GmbH, a specialist in large-scale additive manufacturing (AM/3D printing) applications, has opened The Aviation AM Centre in Dusseldorf, Germany, founded in partnership with Randerath GmbH, a turn-key project delivery company. The new venture will provide end-to-end solutions for the AM of certified aircraft cabin interior polymer parts.
The centre, located within the EOS Innovation Centre, is intended to drive innovative and sustainable manufacturing in the aviation industry through the use of production cells that can be used to develop components that are lightweight, strong, and which use materials efficiently in the production process. The venture will provide full design, manufacturing and certification services for polymer parts, and AM machines (including EOS industrial 3D printing technologies) that meet European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) standards.
Additive manufacturing can reduce the time and money spent by aircraft operators and MRO organisations as they seek to reduce downtime and improve the speed and efficiency with which they can service aircraft interiors. Customised parts in particular involve high prices and long lead times for production, which can be reduced by the flexibility and low costs of AM in the maintenance and refurbishment of cabin interiors. 3D printing can enable structural optimisation and weight reduction of parts, and can also be used to produce parts on-demand, directly from a ‘digital warehouse’, reducing wait times, along with storage and production costs.
Primary customers have been identified as airlines and maintenance organisations, alongside cabin interior suppliers and original equipment manufacturers across the commercial aviation sector, as well as VIP charter companies, private aviation and urban mobility.
Bernhard Randerath is founder and chairman of the board of The Aviation AM Centre. He has extensive experience in the aviation business, including various management positions in aircraft design, maintenance, engineering, customer support and airline operations at Lufthansa, Airbus, and most recently as VP of engineering at Etihad Engineering.
Randerath said, “Airline operations are facing very demanding time- and cost-saving imperatives, especially in the current environment. We are very proud to celebrate the opening of this new venture, which will provide tailored solutions, efficient processes and cutting-edge technology for airlines and other parts of the commercial aviation industry. Our partnership with AM Global brings together deep 3D-printing technology know-how, with our understanding of the market for commercial aviation and additive manufacturing – the perfect basis for a strong business.”
The Aviation AM Centre is supported by the newly founded German-Emirati Institute and the ACAM Aachen Centre for Additive Manufacturing, both located in Aachen, Germany. The German-Emirati Institute aims to build greater industrial collaboration between Germany and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), based on the two countries’ framework agreement for industrial cooperation and technology exchange.
