Strata to use 3D printing for Etihad aircraft parts in project with Siemens

Abu Dhabi’s Strata has tied up with Siemens and Etihad ­Airways to develop the region’s first 3D printed aircraft interior parts.

In the pilot project, Strata Manufacturing, owned by Mubadala, will develop 3D printed aviation parts for Etihad cabin interiors.

Siemens is providing consultation on material selection, testing and process preparation.

The parts will be made at Strata’s manufacturing facilities in Al Ain and will in turn be certified by the design team of Etihad Engineering.

"We see great opportunities for 3D printing as a disruptive force in manufacturing and expect it to play a key role in a globally competitive, increasingly digitalised industrial landscape in the Middle East," said Assem Khalaili, Siemens Middle East’s executive vice president for industry customer services.

If successful, the project will be expanded into the development of a three-year joint road map between Siemens and Strata for the further industrialisation of 3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, for the production of complex airline parts on demand for customers in the wider Mena region, including training opportunities for UAE citizens.

"Our goal is to deploy this technology on practical applications that will allow development of local knowledge building in various aspects of this technology that will lead to future innovations that can benefit the broader aerospace industry," said Badr Al Olama, Strata’s chief executive.

Strata last year won orders worth US$1 billion to make inboard flaps for Airbus A350-900 wings and the horizontal tail plane for the Airbus A320. The company also won a multi-year contract worth hundreds of millions of dollars to make vertical fins for Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner family.

The manufacturer, launched in 2010, expects to break even during next year and is targeting annual revenue of Dh1bn by 2020.