Sintavia is the First Company to Receive Approval to 3D Print Production Parts for Honeywell Aerospace

“Bionic” concept design for an Airbus jet. [Image: Airbus Operations]

Due to the design complexity that 3D printing offers, the technology has found use in many aerospace applications. All kinds of aircraft today, from drones to jets and rockets, use 3D printed parts. A major reason for this is that 3D printing can be employed to make parts more lightweight, which is very important when it comes to airplanes. In addition, the technology can produce components with consistent quality and repeatable characteristics, and is also capable of making complex assemblies as a single component, which makes the supply chain more efficient.

Reducing the complexity and weight of parts in the aerospace and defense industry can increase performance, while also lowering overall cost and energy expenditures. The FAA is currently developing a plan for how to deal with the rate at which the industry is adopting 3D printing technology, and multiple companies are researching new 3D printing materials for the industry, so the potential positive impact of the technology on the aerospace sector will almost certainly increase.

Tier One metal 3D printer manufacturer Sintavia LLC, headquartered in Florida, was founded in 2012, officially launching as a company in 2015. The metal additive manufacturing company, which recently entered into a strategic alliance with Trumpf to develop machine qualifications for aerospace applications, has been growing ever since, and is committed to achieving the highest industry quality standards. In 2016, the company became the first dedicated additive manufacturing laboratory to receive ISO 17025 accreditation from the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation, and recently announced that it was one of the first aerospace manufacturing companies to achieve AS9100 REV D certification.

These impressive certifications aren’t the only milestones – the company’s new facility will be the first to use lean manufacturing principles for large-scale additive manufacturing, and this week, Sintavia announced that it is the first company to receive internal approval to 3D print flightworthy production parts, using a powder bed fusion process, for Honeywell Aerospace.

“We have been working with Honeywell for over 18 months as part of their rigorous supplier qualification. We are grateful that all of our team’s hard work has paid off, and are looking forward to demonstrating the many benefits of additive manufacturing within Honeywell’s supply chain in the form of lower costs, shorter manufacturing times, and dramatic design improvements,” said Brian R. Neff, Sintavia’s Chairman and CEO.

Honeywell , based in Arizona, is an OEM, and no stranger to 3D printing – it’s part of the largest additive manufacturing hub in the Southwest US, and its Advanced Manufacturing Engineering Center in Phoenix had Sigma Labs’ quality assurance PrintRite3D INSPECT software Version 2.0 installed this past summer.

Sintavia’s approval covers all of Honeywell’s programs. As we continue to see examples of 3D printing being used to lower lead times and wasted material, along with increasing energy efficiency, complexity, and mass customization, OEMs like Honeywell will more than likely rely even more on the traditionally used Tier One risk/reward supply chain model to manage the costs of their important manufacturing projects.

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