Plane Support gains CASA approval for 3D-printed 214B helicopter parts

Australian aerospace engineering company Plane Support has received Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) approval to manufacture cabin air conditioning ducting for the 214B helicopter using additive manufacturing, commonly known as 3D printing, in a project initiated by aerial disaster responders McDermott Aviation. The approval, granted under CASA’s Australian Parts Manufacturer Approval (APMA) framework, covers ducting components for the 214B (B-1) and follows almost two years of development by the two companies in close consultation with CASA. McDermott Aviation, the world’s largest operator of the 214B and holder of the aircraft’s Type Certificate, started the project to improve the supply of replacement parts for its fleet, where some components can be difficult to source. “An aircraft waiting on a component you can’t easily get hold of is an aircraft that isn’t working,” McDermott Aviation Founder and President John McDermott said. “Being able to have approved parts made here in Queensland gives us far more control over that.” To produce the components, Plane Support used 3D scanning to capture original 214B ducting and create accurate digital models. The parts were then reverse engineered and redesigned for additive manufacturing while retaining their original form, fit and function. Plane Support established a dedicated aerospace additive manufacturing laboratory for the project, built around the Markforged FX10 industrial 3D printing platform, and developed the quality systems, production controls and inspection methods needed to meet CASA airworthiness requirements. Plane Support Director of Engineering Jason Hazell said the project required new processes to be developed and validated from the ground up. “Ducting sounds simple until you try to reproduce it. These are complex shapes that have to fit exactly and perform in the aircraft just as the originals do, and we had to prove every step of that to CASA,” Hazell said. “We didn’t have an established process to follow, so we developed our own procedures, quality systems and inspection methods and worked them through with CASA. That groundwork now gives us a pathway for other components and other aircraft types.” For Editorial Inquiries Contact: Editor Matt Driskill at [email protected] For Advertising Inquiries Contact: Head of Sales Sally Passey at [email protected]