SAP has announced the signing of a co-innovation agreement with APWorks, a subsidiary of Airbus Defence and Space, which aims to accelerate the adoption and standardisation of industrial 3D printing initiatives for the aerospace and defence industry.
The announcement was made at Farnborough International Airshow 2016.
APWorks plans to use the 3D printing services recently announced by SAP to operate a bionics network that connects 3D printing experts and end users. These services will allow APWorks to manufacture 3D printed components such as armrests and brackets, improve fuel efficiency and reduce CO2 emissions. APWorks can also better manage spare-part orders in real time to deliver qualified products for safety critical applications in aerospace and other industries.
3D printing is now moving beyond industrial prototyping and into manufacturing industries using multiple materials including metals, plastics and ceramics, which is helping to reinvent the manufacturing suppl chain. To address this, SAP announced at the SAPPHIRE NOW conference that it will extend its supply chain solutions to include collaboration and a certification cloud service for industrial 3D printing, based on the SAP HANA Cloud Platform, as well as an on demand 3D printing manufacturing network. These services intend to deliver manufacturing and logistical cost savings, reduce CO2 emissions and eliminate complex supply chain issues.
Torsten Welte, Global Head of Aerospace and Defense Industry, SAP, said: “Innovation in on-demand 3D printing is now revolutionising traditional manufacturing. In the next few years 3D
printing will be widely adopted across manufacturing industries.
“The aerospace and defence market will transform digitally to strive to achieve near-zero unplanned downtime on commercial flights as well as support high production turnaround at a lower cost. What makes 3D printing most attractive in aerospace is the removal of many costs associated with traditional manufacturing like stocking inventory. Users are enabled to print the parts they need, as needed.”
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3D Printing Airbus Defence APWorks Farnborough International Air Show FIA2016 Innovation & Technology SAP
Post written by: Vicky Maggiani
Vicky has worked in media for over 20 years and has a wealth of experience in editing and creating copy for a variety of sectors.
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