Safran Group, the world’s second largest aircraft equipment manufacturer, has opened its new centre of excellence, the Safran Additive Manufacturing Campus, in Le Haillan, southwest France, near Bordeaux.
In a ceremony attended by Roland Lescure, French Minister of Industry, and Alain Rousset, President of the Nouvelle Aquitaine region of southwest France, it was inaugurated by Ross McInnes, Chairman of the Safran Board of Directors, and Olivier Andriès, Chief Executive Officer.
Safran Additive Manufacturing Campus
The Safran Additive Manufacturing Campus is a 12,500-square-meter facility that houses all of the processes required to create parts using additive manufacturing, from research and development to engineering and production. More than 100 world-class scientists, engineers, and technicians are already working in the facility to produce parts for the entire group using cutting-edge technology, particularly 3D printers that use 3D digital models to turn metallic powders into aircraft and engine parts.
Additive manufacturing provides significant benefits to aviation because it enables the production of parts that were previously impossible to produce using other methods, often combining multiple functions in a single piece. Additive Manufacturing is also an environmentally friendly process because it consumes fewer raw materials and energy while significantly reducing weight, lowering fuel consumption and contributing to the decarbonization of aviation, which is a top priority for Safran. Furthermore, additive manufacturing reduces machining time, increasing competitiveness.
“We made a strategic decision to create this new center of excellence to consolidate Safran’s expertise in additive manufacturing and accelerate the application of this disruptive technology. We will be leveraging the advantages of this technology to make our new products even lighter, while enhancing their performance – and that’s the key to meeting our industry’s objective of reducing its environmental impact. A quarter of the parts in some of our engines could eventually be made using this process.”
– Olivier Andries, CEO of Safran
Since June 2022, the first thousand 3D-printed parts from the Safran Additive Manufacturing Campus have been delivered to Safran Helicopter Engines. The Campus hopes to deliver 4,000 parts this year and double that number by 2023.
