Fighter Sweep
  • Home
  • Military Aviation
  • Air Force
  • Navy
  • Spec Ops
  • Expert Analysis
  • Careers
  • Photos
Home Previous Post Next Post
Follow @fightersweep

AWACS gets its first 3D-Printed Part!

January 29, 2016 AWACS gets its first 3D-Printed Part!
FighterSweep Staff No Comments News

Editor’s Note: The Boeing E-3 Sentry, better known as AWACS (Airborne Warning And Control System), has been our nation’s “eye in the sky” for decades. Built on the venerable 707 platform, the Sentry has been received numerous upgrades over the years and continues to provide critical battlefield command and control, as well as intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capability.

The 552nd Maintenance Squadron Fabrication Flight recently won engineering approval to make and install the first 3-D printed part for E-3 Airborne Warning and Control System aircraft.

The part — a plastic end cap for seat armrests — isn’t crucial to keeping the battle management platforms flying, but the manufacturing feat is an early milestone on the Air Force’s road to save money and time using 3-D printing to repair and maintain aircraft.

Senior Master Sgt. Bradley Green, Fabrication Flight superintendent, said Oklahoma City Air Logistics Complex engineers determined that the 3-D printer’s specialized plastic met requirements for fire and smoke safety and they approved use of the part Dec. 18.

A Boeing E-3C Sentry AWACS (Airborne Warning And Control System) flies during an exercise at Nellis AFB, NV.

A Boeing E-3C Sentry AWACS (Airborne Warning And Control System) flies during an exercise at Nellis AFB, NV.

“The metals tech shop here is really leading the way in Air Force innovation and developing a new way of doing things — making it leaner, faster, on demand,” said Sergeant Green. “They’re unlocking unlimited repair potential. It’s the way of the future.”

The Fabrication Flight’s job is to repair or make new parts to replace worn-out or damaged components of E-3 Sentry planes and their related ground equipment, such as power generators and hydraulic systems.

The Fabrication Flight received an advanced Fortus 400mc 3-D printer last July. After initial training, the technicians immediately put it to use. Maintainers reverse-engineered the armrest cap with calipers and other measuring tools to print out a perfect copy.

Taking advantage of the 3-D printer’s production-grade capabilities, the flight has also developed a new way to make replacement air duct brackets used inside the E-3’s wings. The new method will save an estimated $540,960 a year, said Staff Sgt. Ryan McBride, assistant shopkeeper with the 552nd Maintenance Squadron’s metals technology section.

The roughly U-shaped, 5-inch wide metal brackets were being made by technicians manually cutting out the initial sheet metal shapes, drilling individual holes and making bends in the sheet metal one at a time.

The Fabrication Flight, part of the 552nd Air Control Wing, revamped that manufacturing process with another relatively new tool in the shop — a computerized water-jet cutter. High-pressure jets now cut the initial flats and add the holes, eliminating human error.

To bend the flat parts into the correct shape, Sergeant McBride designed and made two high-strength plastic form molds with the 3-D printer. A high-pressure press brake forces the metal into a top and bottom mold to create the precise bends.

“We were able to take an eight hour job that sheet metal was doing start to finish and with our new technology we’re down to an hour and 30 minutes per bracket,” Sergeant McBride said. “We’re saving weekends for some people.”

The original article can be viewed here.

(Featured Photo: An E-3 Sentry approaches a KC-10A Extender from McGuire Air Force Base for aerial refueling on June 29, 2000. (U.S. Air Force photo by Gary Ell)

 

Related Posts

  • Watch: The first flight of what could be the US military’s future long-range assault aircraftWatch: The first flight of what could be the US military’s future long-range assault aircraft
  • Why do the Pentagon’s reasons for buying new F-15s keep shifting?Why do the Pentagon’s reasons for buying new F-15s keep shifting?
  • Acting defense secretary under investigation for alleged Boeing biasActing defense secretary under investigation for alleged Boeing bias
  • What exactly is going on with Boeing’s troubled Max line of aircraft?What exactly is going on with Boeing’s troubled Max line of aircraft?
  • End of an era: Pentagon to stop purchasing CH-47F ChinooksEnd of an era: Pentagon to stop purchasing CH-47F Chinooks

Find Us on Facebook

FighterSweep.com

Sign Up
for the Newsletter

What’s Hot

  • Acrobatic Couple Criticized for Stunt Beneath Landing Airliner at Maho Beach, Saint Martin
    July 11, 2018

    Acrobatic Couple Criticized for Stunt Under Landing Airliner at Maho Beach, Saint Martin

  • President Joe Biden awards medal of honor to four U.S. Army soldiers for heroism in Vietnam War. Screenshot taken from CBS News
    August 16, 2022

    4 Vietnam War Veterans Get Medal of Honor from Biden

  • blue-angels-reporter-blacks-out-passes-out
    December 5, 2017

    Watch: News Reporter Blacks Out on Ride with US Navy Blue Angels

Follow Us

Facebook Twitter Twitter

Recent Comments

  • Lars Dirch Sørensen This didn't age well.
  • Speir Mor Media Amazing history and pride in the old B-52! And that’s one hell of a range. [...]
  • disqus_lkVjMrnsGt As an 8th grader in 1960 I first became acquainted with the 1952 Washington [...]
  • SWS Irrational fears and misinformation is not a reason to get a waiver from a [...]

© Copyright 2022 SOFREP Media Group. All Rights Reserved.

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Advertisers
 

Loading Comments...