Aircraft Maintenance Technology

JAN-FEB 2017

The aircraft maintenance professional's source for technological advancements, maintenance alerts, news, articles, events, and careers

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INDUSTRY OUTLOOK 10 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2017 AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE TECHNOLOGY tive manufacturing is growing: the global market is expected to increase from $3.07bn in revenue in 2013 to $12.8bn by 2018, exceeding $21bn by 2020. This is no more so apparent than in aerospace and defense (A&D;) production and MRO applications. The precision that it allows, particularly with intri- cate components, means that OEMs can manufacture, lighter and more accurate products faster than ever before. With greater efficiency and reduction in fuel usage high on the agenda, every gram of weight saved counts. The latter has a greater role to play in MRO as the constant high pressure placed on parts results in some components needing to be regularly replaced. The faster this can be done, the less time aircraft fleets spend grounded — an issue that is costing the industry vast sums of money. Airbus China, for example, recently estimated the cost of a grounded A380 Airbus to be $1,250,000 every day. Equally, the manufacturing process here is far more streamlined, reducing human error, and allowing rapid prototyping to stress test new innovations or design concepts, before going into mass production. Despite the advantages of AM in A&D;, there are some challenges that need to be addressed before the technology can be adopted more widely across the industry. The nature of the inherent risks associated with aviation makes it a highly regulated sector and this impacts the speed at which 3-D manufacturing processes are being adopted. The technology has drawn heavy scrutiny from regulators, and manufacturers face a challenge in proving the safety of products produced by this new process and gaining accreditation. Some of the areas regulators are keen to focus their attention on over the next few years are how printed products will behave over time and based on the materials used, it will also be interesting to see how the industry adopts means to accelerate its adoption. Nevertheless, despite the regulatory hurdles to over- come, significant cost and efficiency benefits are being seen across the design and manufacturing lifecycle. AM is set to continue to have a transformational impact on the A&D; industry and it will be fascinating to see where the next innovations come from. All the signs are there for this technological innovation to create the biggest impact on this industry over the next five to 10 years. AFTERMARKET AND NEW ENTRANTS The most dynamic area of the aerospace industry, mov- ing into 2017, will be in aftermarket services. With the efficiencies being imposed on manufacturing, Tier 1 suppliers are looking to garner more of their profits from the aftermarket business. They will continue to take more control of this area, either by signing long- term maintenance contracts or by signing pay-by-the- hour agreements with airlines. But this move does not come without resistance from the rest of the market, as they will be jostling for space with traditional MROs that already operate in this space. The aftermarket is certainly going to be the area to watch for two reasons: first the growing presence of OEMs in the aftermarket and second the disruption caused by new technologies that drive improved aircraft availability. On newer platforms, OEMs are increasing their footprint in the aftermarket and are incentivizing BOEING 737 MAX on display at the 2016 Farnborough International Airshow. RONALD DONNER

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