High-flyers: IE talks to Essentium about its US Air Force contract

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News broke earlier this week that US-based additive manufacturing company Essentium had signed a contract for the “development and deployment” of 3D printing within the US Air Force (USAF) and National Guard Bureau.

The contract was part of a $550 million Strategic Financing Initiative by USAF to “identify and advance the ‘big bet’ technologies”. Some of the technologies being bet on include Augmented Reality contact lenses, swarm military satellites, AI/Data Fusion approaches to human-machine interfaces and 3D Printing.

A technology that has, in many ways, become emblematic of Industry 4.0 - from construction to healthcare to space tech - 3D printing, or Additive Manufacturing (AM), has made an indelible mark on virtually all sectors and looks certain to become a staple in manufacturers’ toolkits for the foreseeable future.

Industry Europe’s Steve Gislam caught up with Elisa Teipel, Chief Development Officer and Co-founder of Essentium to find out just how the company and its unique High Speed Extrusion (HSE) 3D Printing Platform can benefit the world’s largest air force.

Industry Europe – Additive manufacturing is fairly well established now as a technology. In what ways can it drive development for the US Air Force specifically?

Elisa Teipel – The big push is in the area of sustainment and the lifecycle management of the ageing aircraft that it has in its fleet. The sustainment effort is huge because many of these planes have been in service for more than 50 years and the original manufacturers of the equipment are either no longer in business or no longer making the specific parts. This means that it’s expensive and can take a long time – six months, 12 months, sometimes even longer. No company really wants to make ones or twos of a component, which is where industrial AM, like Essentium’s HSE 3D Printing Platform, comes in. As a technology, it can really help the sustainment and management of the older aircraft.

IE: What kind of cost savings can USAF expect to see? Obviously, each component is different, but do you have any ballpark figures for this?

ET: It really depends on the material and the size of the part, and so on. The cost saving can be anywhere from five to ten times the price for each piece – and is made up to 15 times faster – than using traditional manufacturing methods.

IE: What will be the impact that the introduction of the technology has on jobs, directly and indirectly inside and connected to the US Air Force?

ET: There are two ways of thinking on this issue. One is that AM will become just another tool in a machine shop. Something that airmen or engineers can use for ground support, tooling or just in general as another tool in the shop.

But there is another school of thought that is connected with Air Education and Training Command. They’re looking at having another type of job code created for AM. It’s such a specialised skill that if you really intend to maximise its use, it makes sense to have people from the Air Force be trained or retrained in it. Those people’s jobs would then be to manage a fleet of printers, for example. It’s a two-fold approach.

IE: So instead of USAF outsourcing the job to a traditional aerospace components manufacturer, it would be done onsite by a trained specialist within the USAF?

ET: The way the technology used to be rolled out, it was in an ‘either/or’ way. The old way or the new way. What’s so special about AM is that it’s so complementary. It means that USAF can be printing its own parts but the larger OEMs that would traditionally make things for them can also purchase and have machines to make parts themselves. It all really depends on what is needed. I personally think that AM can and will be, indeed is being, used both for the USAF and the typical subcontractors.

IE: And can you tell us some more about the actual components that Essentium will be developing and manufacturing?

ET: Of course. So, components that can be manufactured include almost any ground tools, to HVAC ducts, to general ground support tools and fixtures. Anything really on the ground. We’re working on making airworthy parts but that’s a whole other process. USAF has started to do that but it’s slower going than anything that stays on the ground.

IE: Is AM a technology that will ultimately be able to be used in the actual field of combat? Or is it more likely to be reserved for repair and maintenance?

ET: The goal is to get printers out in the field because you really want to be able to make expeditionary parts. Where you really see AM shine is when you use it as a tool for logistics. It’s often the case that battles have been won on logistics, as Eisenhower famously said. By having a printer on the ground, it’s possible to quickly make a part right there in the field, saving all kinds of logistical problems.

IE: So, it could have a large impact on future operations all over the world.

ET: Absolutely.

IE: What about the quality? It’s quicker to make as well as being cheaper but does this have an impact on the quality compared with traditional manufacturing techniques? Would the pieces need replacing more often?

ET: The quality is actually better. If you look at what we’re doing, it’s not FDM (Fused Deposition Modeling) but High Speed Extrusion. It’s a lot faster and it allows the plastics to bond together better and has better qualities in general. So, it’s really a win-win-win situation – faster, cheaper and better quality. I think the interesting part with it is that it’s like FDM because it’s extrusion-based but with the high speed, it really is what gives the part it’s making better properties.

IE: I wanted to find out more about the Essentium High Speed Extrusion 3D Printing Platform you’re using and what makes it so unique. Does it correlate specifically well with military and defence applications or does it have a cross-sector appeal?

ET: One of the unique things is that it’s an open platform. Other similar technologies tend to be closed platforms and only certain materials are able to be used. However, with our platform, we went in with a different way of thinking – a different mindset. For us, it’s a tool and you want to be able to pump out as many materials as possible and get the most out of that tool. We have many more materials available, which allows room for development. We work with several companies who have a specific material that they want to be able to use the platform for.  

So the speed is one thing, the fact that it’s an open platform, having access to new materials. All these capabilities relate really specifically to USAF’s needs because currently there’s only one material that’s airworthy and there really needs to be more in order to be acceptable to the public. It can’t just be one expensive material.

IE: On the subject of materials, what’s the carbon footprint like? How sustainable are the materials are they able to ultimately become part of the circular economy?

ET: In the AM community in general, unless you’re using PLA (Polylactic acid), it’s very hard for it to be recyclable or renewable. That doesn’t mean that we aren’t looking at it. Essentium and many other companies are examining ways how we can reduce the carbon footprint because obviously whenever you’re using a plastic polymer material, along with carbon fibre maybe, or glass, then that brings it to where you need to think about what the lifecycle and so on is.

Therefore, part of what we’re doing with USAF is looking at the lifecycle management of the platform and the materials in general. So, over the course of time, we hope to have more answers to that and to come up with plans that are beneficial, not just to Essentium but to the industry as a whole.

IE: I’d also like to find more out about the cybersecurity element of the platform. Is there something in place to protect the platform from hackers and other cyber threats?

ET:  In common with the USAF and other companies, we use air gapping - not connecting the tech with the wider network. You need to plan around it a little, but it seems that right now it’s the safest way, so there’s no breach of cybersecurity.

Having said that, as a whole, USAF and the AM community is looking at how to access files and be able to download on demand. So, you’ll see a lot coming out in the next two or three years on this. For now, though, air gapping is the best way.

IE: Anything you would like to add?

ET: Some of the parts in older aircraft are made of materials that are no longer considered safe. For example, some of the resins used. So, we’re working on materials that can be used as a replacement for those older materials.

We’re not just offering 3D printing but offering a full solution to help with sustainment challenges, to help with efficiency, help with transforming aerospace and defence in newer ways than it was thought about before.

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