Aluminum alloy for 3D printing of aircraft components

Honeywell and SLM Solutions present a great success as part of their development partnership for the qualification of aluminum components with higher layer thicknesses. Newly developed parameter sets for the aluminum alloy F357 lead to significantly improved Materialproperties compared to the die-cast component.

The cooperation between Honeywell and SLM Solutions announced in 2019 aims to improve the production of Aircraft components Reduce production times and costs using SLM technology. The new beryllium-free variant of AlSi7Mg0,6 meets the high requirements of the aerospace industry.

3D printing process | manufacturing of the future

As part of the cooperation, Honeywell began qualifying aluminum components with thicker layers of 60 and 90 µm on the Selective laser melting Machine SLM-500. SLM Solutions made its standard aluminum parameter sets available to Honeywell for qualifying the material using the quad laser systems. This enables optimal material properties to be achieved.

Important milestone reached with F357

The development of the new parameter sets for the aluminum alloy F357 has now reached an important milestone. With a layer thickness of 60 µm and a 700 W laser configuration, the material properties were compared to die castingcomponents significantly improved.

The new aluminum alloy is particularly light. Compared to conventional aluminum alloys, it also offers significantly higher corrosion resistance. She reached a high strength in a wide temperature range. The alloy has a high Weldability and can be reworked very well. F357 is very suitable for mechanical or electrochemical processing such as anodizing.

3D Printer Material | from plastic to metal

Thanks to these properties, the aluminum alloy in 3D Print very well thin walls and complex structures produce. This makes the aluminum alloy ideal for aerospace or Automotive industry"In particular, the open system architecture and the associated high level of flexibility as well as the possibility of customizing parameter sets offers enormous advantages," says dr Soren Wiener, Senior Director Technology and Advanced Operations at Honeywell Aerospace. "With this strategy and the great support from SLM Solutions, we are making progress in achieving our next goals."

Benjamin Hass, Product Manager Materials & Parameters at SLM Solutions explains: “It is a privilege to work with one of the leading aerospace companies. In this way we can learn a lot from each other. All our customers benefit from the industry-proven and perfectly tailored solutions. "