Safran recently inaugurated its 12,500-square-meter additive manufacturing campus in Le Haillan, near Bordeaux in southwest France. Safran says that the facility will have all processes needed to make parts using additive manufacturing, from research and development to engineering and production. The facility boasts of having over 100 scientists, engineers, and technicians to produce parts for the whole group using state-of-the-art installations, especially 3D printers that use 3D digital models to turn metallic powders into aircraft and engine parts.
Olivier Andries, CEO of Safran, said: “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.”
The first 1,000 3D-printed parts from the Safran Additive Manufacturing Campus have been delivered to Safran Helicopter Engines since June 2022. The Campus aims to deliver a total of 4,000 parts this year and then double that figure in 2023.