‘Can do’ attitude delivers real value

Kieron Salter, managing director of digital fabrication specialists, KW Special Projects (KWSP), looks at the significant opportunities that lie in a closer working relationship between motorsport and aerospace.
There are many synergies between aerospace and motorsport. From lightweight structures and relatively low production volumes to the need for safety critical components, the two sectors methodologies are remarkably similar. However, what we need to consider is how best to use these synergies to maximise the potential of the UK aerospace industry.

The motorsport industry is uniquely placed to offer innovative technologies which can be constantly developed, alongside world-class engineering capability and process improvement. Coming from a race proven ‘can do' attitude, the approach has the potential to deliver real value to the aerospace industry.

In motorsport, an innate culture of on-time delivery, whatever the obstacle or challenge, has been developed over time. The car needs to be on the grid ready to go, not a second too late, with no excuses. No race has ever been held up due to the failure of a part being delivered and motorsport's ability to change its plans and expectations as situations develop is second-to-none. This ‘can do' attitude, that is so prevalent in motorsport, can be harnessed for the benefit of the aerospace sector.

Another obvious aspect that can be of benefit to aerospace is in technology transfer and harnessing emerging manufacturing techniques.

With evolving manufacturing techniques, opportunities to secure better quality, delivery and safety within the aerospace industry are rife. New techniques include rapid manufacturing, pioneering composite development and composite manufacturing, as well as additive manufacturing (AM) and digital fabrication. These techniques can only be fully exploited if the two industries work closely together to knowledge share and collaboratively introduce proven processes.

Alongside knowledge and process sharing, AM has huge technology transfer potential within the aerospace industry. In particular, the common theme of 3D printing to produce disposable tooling for composites could be particularly valuable. This allows complex accurate composite structures to be manufactured because the tooling can be either dissolved or heated away. Due to the fact that the tooling isn't permanent, design changes can also be implemented during development phases at no additional cost as the new tooling for each part can be printed on demand.

The assumption by many is that AM will result in direct manufacture of production-ready 3D printed parts when, in actual fact, many of the opportunities are more likely to be found in the supply chain leading up to the end use part. For example, the manufacture of both tools for injection moulding or casting and tooling for composites can be undertaken using this method. In addition to tooling, there are jig fixtures, templates, tools, bespoke devices and prototype development parts that can all be manufactured in AM to shorten product development cycles.

These techniques are already being used on racecars, where the ability to make complex parts quickly, without tooling, and to produce complex structures that cannot be made in conventional manufacturing techniques is essential. In motorsport we can conduct the R&D on track in a real-world performance and competition environment. This allows us to develop the solutions that can ultimately be transferred to aerospace with processes validated in a relatively low-risk environment. The additional advantage to aerospace, once these parts are able to be manufactured in AM, will further improve the vital Buy-to-Fly ratio.

It's clear there are challenging times ahead in aerospace, but such challenges create opportunities. Its supply chain will need to work harder, faster, more cost-effectively and with more flexibility than ever. This plays to the strengths of the UK motorsport engineering sector. Our ‘can-do' attitude to resolve complex problems quickly, alongside taking the lead in employing new manufacturing techniques, meets many of these challenges. We consistently prove that we're the best in the world at meeting the tough engineering challenges of motorsport. We should work together to do the same for aerospace.

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