3D Printing May Save Money and the Environment by Creating Lighter Airplanes

3D printing may not just save you money; it may also help save the environment. Researchers have confirmed a new way to help the airline industry in the form of 3D printing.

In this latest study, the researchers used aircraft industry data to complete a case study of the life-cycle environmental effects of using 3D printing for select metal aircraft parts, a technique that is already being adopted by the industry. 3D printing the lighter and higher performance parts could significantly reduce both manufacturing waste and the weight of the airplane. This would save fuel and money and decrease carbon emissions.

"The airline industry is an early adopter of 3D printing," said Eric Masanet, the lead researcher, in a news release. "The main driver is that aircrafts require specialized lightweight metal alloys that can be very costly to process."

Conventional manufacturing methods tend to be both inefficient and wasteful. In contrast, 3D printing requires far less raw material inputs and can further produce parts that minimize weight thorugh better design.

"We have suboptimal designs because we're limited by conventional manufacturing," said Masanet. "When you can make something in layer-by-layer fashion, those constraints diminish."

It's not likely that there'll be changes to crucial parts of the aircraft, such as the wings and engine. However, there is real potential to replace less flight-critical parts, such as brackets, hinges, seat buckles and furnishings.

"There are enough parts that, when replaced, could reduce the weight of the aircraft by 4 to 7 percent," said Masanet. "And it could be even more as we move forward. This will save a lot of resources and a lot of fuel."

The findings could be huge for the airline industry. However, 3D technology needs to improve in order to realize the full extent of the estimated aircraft weight savings.

The findings are published in the Journal of Cleaner Production.

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