INNOVATION
AIR NEW ZEALAND,
MICROSOFT, MOOG
AND ST ENGINEERING
ANNOUNCE GROUND-BREAKING DIGITAL COLLABORATION
Air New Zealand has teamed up with
components and systems provider
Moog, Microsoft and ST Engineering
on a world-first experiment which
has the potential to transform aerospace supply
chains by leveraging 3D printing and Moog’s
blockchain enabled VeriPart process to create a
point of use, time of need digital supply chain.
The proof of concept has seen Air New Zealand
order a digital aircraft part file from Singaporebased
ST Engineering. The digital file was
immediately sent to an approved printer, operated
by Moog in Los Angeles, downloaded and 3D
printed before being installed within hours on an
Air New Zealand Boeing 777-300 aircraft ahead
of its scheduled departure. The entire transaction,
from purchase to installation, was logged in
Moog’s VeriPart digital supply chain system, which
is powered by Microsoft Azure Cloud technology.
The file was for a bumper part, which sits behind
the airline’s Business Premier monitors and
prevents the screen from damaging the seat when
it’s pushed in.
Air New Zealand chief ground operations officer
Carrie Hurihanganui says being able to 3D print
and certify aircraft parts in this way could present
significant benefits to commercial airlines.
“Being able to 3D print certain components on the
go would be transformative and drive significant
efficiencies and sustainability benefits. Rather
than having the cost associated with purchasing,
shipping and storing physical parts and potentially
having to fly an aircraft with an unavailable
seat, this system would allow us to print a part
when and where we need it in hours,” says Ms
Hurihanganui.
VeriPart is used for assuring data, process, and
performance integrity of 3D printed parts for
aerospace applications. The VeriPart blockchain
platform allows an engineering partner to release
its intellectual property in a controlled way. The
airline is then only able to 3D print the number of
parts it requires on demand. The newly printed
part is securely authenticated and traceable
via VeriPart, providing the added value of
configuration control for the life of the aircraft.
This four-company experiment has made it
possible to prove the concept as technically
viable and prove its potential value to the aircraft
maintenance industry. The end result of the
collaboration opens the door to a future of
distributed networks starting with a digital design
file and ending with a physical part. This will
decrease lead times and result in less down time
for airlines.
See the experiment in
the digital edition
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