With its present ability to deliver high-value, low-volume parts and components, additive manufacturing (AM) is a perfect fit for the specialized needs and demands of the aeronautics industry.
Projects and research related to aeronautics already account for about 25 per cent of work at the Multi-Scale Additive Manufacturing (MSAM) Lab at Waterloo Engineering, and leaders there see even more opportunities ahead with the scheduled launch on Oct. 5 of the new Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Aeronautics (WISA).
“AM adoption started in the biomedical and aerospace/aviation fields and they’re still the main drivers,” said Mihaela Vlasea, associate research director at MSAM and a professor of mechanical and mechatronics engineering at the University of Waterloo.
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The video above chronicles the production of custom, aerodynamic metal parts for the Canadian Olympic cycling team, from digital design to 3D printing, using an additive manufacturing process known as laser powder bed fusion.