2017-03-31 06:52:53
Renishaw is contributing its additive manufacturing expertise to the WINDY collective, a $23 million-plus project led by Airbus. According to Renishaw, WINDY, also known as Wing Design Methodology Validation, aims to create lighter and more efficient wings, with more than 30,000 new aircraft expected to be required in the next 15-20 years. This is critical for greener airliners in the future, as airlines replace existing in-service models and expand fleets with increases in air travel. The project develops innovative ways of designing and manufacturing aircraft wings, which encourages a “right first time approach” and reduces development time.
“Aircraft wing design is a hugely complicated process and this project will look at ways we can increase the robustness of the design and test process while also reducing the time this takes,” said Airbus Chief Operating Officer Tom Williams. “Developing state-of-the-art technology will be at the heart of achieving these improvements and this investment is vital for that.”
WINDY will evaluate the potential for complex 3-D printed wing structure components, aerodynamic wing modeling and innovative load controls for better in-flight efficiency. As a key partner, Renishaw provides expertise in metal additive manufacturing as well as its precision measurement.
“This is a fantastic opportunity to work with Airbus and other project partners to develop processes that will fully test the capabilities of additive manufacturing,” said Clive Martell, Renishaw’s Head of Global Additive Manufacturing. “If we can highlight the design and production benefits of this technology in one of the most demanding industry sectors, it paves the way for greater adoption of AM for serialized production in many other applications.”
WINDY was made possible due to joint industry and UK government investment from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), supported by the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI).
For more information contact: Renishaw Inc. 1001 Wesemann Drive West Dundee, IL 60118 847-286-9953 usa@renishaw.com www.renishaw.com
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