Airbus Delivers Cutting Edge 3D Printed Plane To Qatar Airways

The aviation industry takes a giant leap as Airbus launches their most cutting-edge passenger plane to date.

For this project, Airbus collaborated with the 3D Printing leader firm Stratasys to build the Airbus A350 XWB, which boasts 1,000 3D-printed parts made with state-of-the-art manufacturing techniques: “We are delighted that Stratasys additive manufacturing solutions are being adopted by Airbus for its flagship A350 XWB aircraft. Both companies share a vision of applying innovative technologies to design and manufacturing to create game-changing benefits,” Stratasys Executive Vice President of Business Development, Marketing & Vertical Solutions Dan Yalon said. “Our additive manufacturing solutions can produce complex parts on-demand, ensuring on time delivery while streamlining supply chains. Additive manufacturing also greatly improves the buy-to-fly ratio as significantly less material is wasted than with conventional manufacturing methods. Stratasys is looking forward to bringing these and other advantages to its collaboration with Airbus and to being part of Airbus’ Factory of the Future initiative.” Added.

To fabricate each part on a Fortus 3D Production System, Stratasys used an ULTEM 9085 resin. Though 3D printing has been used in the past for military aircrafts, the Airbus A350 XWB is the first attempt to incorporate Additive Manufacturing in commercial passenger jets.

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