VELO3D, an innovator in digital manufacturing, has revealed that Boom Supersonic’s XB-1 aircraft includes 21 flight hardware components that were manufactured by the company's Sapphire 3D metal printer.
Unveiled this week at Boom’s hangar in Centennial, Colorado, the XB-1 marks a turning point in commercial viability for supersonic travel and demonstrates the power of additive manufacturing (AM) to enable innovation while accelerating product development.
“Aviation hardware is especially difficult to manufacture with 3D metal printing, due to challenging aerodynamic designs that must be balanced with superior durability and high temperature requirements,” says Benny Buller, CEO and founder of VELO3D. “Our technology allows the production of lightweight, complex designs for mission-critical applications in the toughest operating conditions. Our partnership with Boom is truly an advancement for the metal AM industry, and the XB-1 supersonic aircraft is a gamechanger for the aviation industry.”
Boom Supersonic and VELO3D announced a partnership in 2019 to manufacture complex flight hardware to build XB-1, and ran a series of qualification trials on VELO3D’s Sapphire system. The printed Titanium parts are used for engine hardware, the environmental control system, and structural components.
Characteristics of the geometric designs include tall, thin walls with high aspect ratios, which are inherently difficult to manufacture with either traditional processes such as welding and casting, or even most existing 3D printing technologies. VELO3D’s innovative Support Free printing process enables unprecedented design freedom and quality control, eliminating manufacturing constraints to innovation in aircraft design.
"We strongly believe that supersonic is the future of flight and we’re appreciative of VELO3D in helping us to realise this goal with XB-1," states Mike Jagemann, head of XB-1 production at Boom Supersonic.
XB-1 is the world’s first independently developed supersonic jet. It will be used to demonstrate critical technologies for Overture, Boom’s future commercial airliner, such as advanced carbon-fiber composite construction, computer-optimised high-efficiency aerodynamics, and an efficient supersonic propulsion system.
XB-1 is the end-product of years of development effort, including multiple wind tunnel trials, dozens of structural tests, hundreds of simulation iterations, and tens of thousands of work hours.
(Pics courtesy of Boom and Velo3D)
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