Colorado-based aircraft manufacturer, Boom Supersonic, is going all in with the signing of a 7-year agreement extension with Stratasys, as they look to further accelerate the adoption of AM for 3D-printed flight hardware.
With the new agreement in place, Boom Supersonic is looking to expand the use of AM beyond prototyping for final-use flight parts by utilizing the Stratasys F900 3D Printer alongside the Aircraft Interiors Solution (AIS) package.
The package will help improve mechanical properties and develop repeatable aircraft production parts for the XB-1, the company’s supersonic demonstrator aircraft.
The first few years of partnership with Stratasys was a particularly successful one for Boom, as they saved hundreds of hours of labor time along with rapid iteration of design cycles with the F370 and Fortus 450mc.
Instead of purchasing parts from a supplier, Boom was able to 3D print more than 200 critical parts and components on site for tooling, prototyping, and test benches which could be customized. The time to produce was also dramatically sped up which allowed for better focus on building the aircraft and fulfilling the vision.
The new agreement will also integrate FDM 3D printing into flight part production for Overture – the revolutionary Mach-2.2 commercial airliner. The AIS package will facilitate a quicker, more streamlined approach to qualify AM parts for aircraft installation, and is instrumental as the aircraft will fly more than 2x the speed of sound, or in excess of 2,400 km/h.
The rollout of XB-1 is expected later this year, and the first supersonic flight is due for 2020. Consumer travel will happen in the mid-2020s, with Overture currently in the development stage.
Learn more about our Fortus Series 3D Printers and how FDM technology works. You can also contact us via our contact form, email us at info@creatz3d.com, or call +65 6631 8555 for any further inquiries.
