6/7/13 12:24 AM 3-D Printing Will Soon Become a Routine Manufacturing Tool | MIT Technology Review

Page 1 of 2 http://www.technologyreview.com/featuredstory/513716/additive-manufacturing/

By MarIin LaMonica on April 23, 2013
G
eneral ElecIric is making a radical deparIure Irom Ihe way iI has IradiIionally manuIacIured Ihings.
lIs aviaIion division, Ihe world's largesI supplier oI jeI engines, is preparing Io produce a Iuel nozzle
Ior a new aircraII engine by prinIing Ihe parI wiIh lasers raIher Ihan casIing and welding Ihe meIal. The
Iechnique, known as addiIive manuIacIuring (because iI builds an objecI by adding ulIraIhin layers oI
maIerial one by one), could IransIorm how OE designs and makes many oI Ihe complex parIs IhaI go
inIo everyIhing Irom gas Iurbines Io ulIrasound machines.
AddiIive manuIacIuring-Ihe indusIrial version oI 3-D prinIing-is already used Io make some niche
iIems, such as medical implanIs, and Io produce plasIic proIoIypes Ior engineers and designers. BuI Ihe
decision Io mass-produce a criIical meIal-alloy parI Io be used in Ihousands oI jeI engines is a signiIicanI
milesIone Ior Ihe Iechnology. And while 3-D prinIing Ior consumers and small enIrepreneurs has
received a greaI deal oI publiciIy, iI is in manuIacIuring where Ihe Iechnology could have iIs mosI
signiIicanI commercial impacI (see The DiIIerence BeIween Makers and ManuIacIurers,"
January/February 2013).
LasI Iall, OE purchased a pair oI companies wiIh know-how in auIomaIed precision manuIacIuring oI
meIals and Ihen Iolded Ihe Iechnology inIo Ihe operaIions oI OE AviaIion. ThaI group doesn'I have much
Iime Io demonsIraIe IhaI iIs new Iechnology can work aI scale. CFM lnIernaIional, OE's joinI venIure
wiIh France's Snecma, will use Ihe 3-D-prinIed nozzles in iIs LEAP jeI engine, due Io go inIo planes in
laIe 2015 or early 2016 (CFM says iI already has commiImenIs oI S22 billion). Each engine will use 10 Io
20 nozzles, OE needs Io make 25,000 oI Ihe nozzles annually wiIhin Ihree years.
Add|t|ve Manufactur|ng
GE, the wor|d's |argest manufacturer, |s on the verge of us|ng 3-D
pr|nt|ng to make [et parts.
6/7/13 12:24 AM 3-D Printing Will Soon Become a Routine Manufacturing Tool | MIT Technology Review
Page 2 of 2 http://www.technologyreview.com/featuredstory/513716/additive-manufacturing/
lmage by JenniIer May
Tagged: CompuIing, Business, Energy, CommunicaIions, MaIerials, OE, Oeneral ElecIric, 10 BreakIhrough Technologies,
3-D prinIing, AddiIive ManuIacIuring
ReprinIs and Permissions | Send Ieedback Io Ihe ediIor
OE chose Ihe addiIive process Ior manuIacIuring Ihe nozzles because iI uses less maIerial Ihan
convenIional Iechniques. ThaI reduces OE's producIion cosIs and, because iI makes Ihe parIs lighIer,
yields signiIicanI Iuel savings Ior airlines. ConvenIional Iechniques would require welding abouI 20 small
pieces IogeIher, a labor-inIensive process in which a high percenIage oI Ihe maIerial ends up being
scrapped. lnsIead, Ihe parI will be builI Irom a bed oI cobalI-chromium powder. A compuIer-conIrolled
laser shooIs pinpoinI beams onIo Ihe bed Io melI Ihe meIal alloy in Ihe desired areas, creaIing 20-
micromeIer-Ihick layers one by one. The process is a IasIer way Io make complex shapes because Ihe
machines can run around Ihe clock. And addiIive manuIacIuring in general conserves maIerial because
Ihe prinIer can handle shapes IhaI eliminaIe unnecessary bulk and creaIe Ihem wiIhouI Ihe Iypical
wasIe.
The resI oI OE-IogeIher wiIh iIs compeIiIors-is waIching closely. OE Power & WaIer, which makes
large gas and wind Iurbines, has already idenIiIied parIs iI can make wiIh Ihe addiIive process, and OE
HealIhcare has developed a meIhod Io prinI Iransducers, Ihe expensive ceramic probes used in
ulIrasound machines. lI's really IundamenIally changing Ihe way we Ihink abouI Ihe company," says
Mark LiIIle, OE's chieI Iechnology oIIicer.
Breaking wiIh IradiIional manuIacIuring Iechniques, such as casIing and machining maIerial, gives OE
producI designers Iar greaIer IlexibiliIy. AddiIive manuIacIuring machines work direcIly Irom a compuIer
model, so people can devise compleIely new shapes wiIhouI regard Ior exisIing manuIacIuring -
limiIaIions. We can make conIiguraIions IhaI we jusI couldn'I beIore," LiIIle says.
OE engineers are sIarIing Io explore how Io use addiIive manuIacIuring wiIh a wider range oI meIal
alloys, including some maIerials speciIically designed Ior 3-D prinIing. OE AviaIion, Ior one, is looking Io
use IiIanium, aluminum, and nickel-chromium alloys. A single parI could be made oI mulIiple alloys, leIIing
designers Iailor iIs maIerial characIerisIics in a way IhaI's noI possible wiIh casIing. A blade Ior an
engine or Iurbine, Ior example, could be made wiIh diIIerenI maIerials so IhaI one end is opIimized Ior
sIrengIh and Ihe oIher Ior heaI resisIance.
All IhaI is sIill on paper-or raIher, in Ihe compuIerized designs oI producI engineers. For now, OE's
engine nozzle-a parI small enough Io IiI in Ihe palm oI your hand-will be Ihe IirsI big IesI oI wheIher
addiIive manuIacIuring can revoluIionize Ihe way complex high-perIormance producIs are made.
2013 v1.13.05.10
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