SLM Solutions announced the sale of two more SLM 500 machines to Rolls-Royce. A luxury car and aero engine manufacturer previously purchased the same machine model through knowledge transfer. The additional machines are part of the pre-production phase of the Pearl 10X engine and will be used to produce aircraft engine components. The SLM 500 machines will be used to 3D print complex combustion plates, ensuring low weight and reduced emissions. This will contribute to the environmental performance of the Pearl 10X, with an overall engine efficiency increase of 5% compared to its predecessor.
The Pearl 10X is the most powerful engine in the Pearl Rolls-Royce series and was designed specifically for the Dassault Falcon 10X, a highly advanced jet aircraft. There are more than 3,600 business jets powered by Rolls-Royce in operation today, and the company remains the leading engine supplier in the market for this type of aircraft.
This is how Richard Mellor, Chief Production Engineer at Rolls-Royce describes the implementation:
Additive manufacturing enables the supply of complex, high-performance assemblies that cannot be manufactured using conventional techniques. For example, the combustion chamber plates contain cooling holes that rotate the air 180 degrees, maximizing efficiency while reducing emissions.
The SLM 500 is a four-laser metal system that can integrate lasers independently or in parallel to increase build speed by 90% compared to dual laser setups. Machine operator and powder are separated by closed loop powder handling strategy with automatic powder sieving and feeding. Designed for series production, the replaceable cylinder enables the shortest possible times from 3D printing to 3D printing, reducing machine downtime to a minimum.
Source: www.slm-solutions.com