Slideshow: Inside the New Honeywell AM Facility for Reactive Metals
Seven machines currently committed to aluminum expand the company’s capacity to 3D print both tooling and parts. One of the photos illustrates a safety measure addressing reactive metals.
Honeywell’s new additive manufacturing facility for reactive metals includes seven additive machines. The company says the facility, which at present is dedicated to aluminum, is the first of its kind in North America.
Donald Godfrey has long been involved in Honeywell’s AM efforts, holding several patents related to the technology. In addition to the AM resources in Phoenix, he has responsibility over AM labs in the Czech Republic, China and India. His overall mission is to integrate additive manufacturing into Honeywell’s culture.
The new lab joins the company’s existing Additive Manufacturing Technology Center, one of the earliest facilities to additively produce an aerospace part in Inconel 718.
Ten employees together staff the existing additive technology center and the new reactive metals lab, seen here.
This aluminum sample component illustrates AM’s capability to easily grow a complex part that would be impractical to produce any other way.
Many parts can be grown simultaneously in the same build. Honeywell’s next AM facility, already in the works, will be devoted to AM for production.
As part of the focus on reactive metals, various safety investments and procedures are part of the new facility. One of the procedures: Each person entering the facility must wear either electrostatic discharge (ESD) shoes or a grounding strap over each shoe. Read more about ESD measures in this post from Dr. Godfrey.
As reported in this article in the Phoenix Business Journal, Honeywell Aerospace has opened a new facility as part of its Phoenix Additive Manufacturing Technology Center that is devoted to reactive metals. At present, the new facility’s capacity is committed to aluminum, but it was recently approved for titanium-aluminum alloys as well.
Honeywell says this is the first AM facility in North America with this focus. Company engineering fellow Donald Godfrey leads the site. He expects the seven metal additive machines here will pay for themselves through the savings and speed resulting from the company’s now-increased capacity to grow aluminum parts and tooling in-house.
The article also reports that further investment in AM is coming. Honeywell plans a 30,000-square-foot facility for production additive manufacturing that will have another 10 to 16 machines.
Use the “Next Image” button above to view images from inside the new facility.
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