Additive manufacturing technology makes Hawker Typhoon fighters regain their former glory

For nearly two decades, the "Jet Age" Aviation Museum in Gloucester, England, has been working to restore the famous British aircraft during the Second World War, the Hawker Typhoon, and Gloucester is the birthplace of the aircraft. The museum has worked hard to find a competent engineering company, hoping to re-create the complete cockpit bracket based on the original design drawings of 1938 in the absence of manufacturing details. After careful screening, they finally found Renishaw.

As a world-renowned engineering company, Renishaw has spared no effort to help it – the cockpit brackets produced using the latest metal additive manufacturing (3D printing) technology, allowing the recovery of typhoon fighters to be planned as planned.

Typhoon Hawke – also known by the Royal Air Force (RAF) as “Tiffy” – was a famous British single-seat fighter bomber during the Second World War, exclusively manufactured by Gloucestershire Aircraft Corporation. The Typhoon is the only aircraft of the Royal Air Force that can compete with the rival Fokker-Wolf Fw 190 fighter in low-altitude operations. In addition, the typhoon fighter is still an excellent ground attack aircraft. The glorious history has created its status as a British treasure.

The Glowing Age Aviation Museum in Gloucester is working to renovate a World War II Hawker Typhoon fighter aircraft that was discovered in a scrap yard in Wiltshire.

The Jet Age Aviation Museum asked Renishaw to help rebuild the two brackets on the Hock Typhoon fighter's fuselage – such brackets are extremely rare in their class.

Only 3,317 typhoon fighters were produced before and after the typhoon, and there is not much left today; no aircraft can return to the sky. In 1998, a wreckage of a typhoon cockpit was found in a scrap yard in Wiltshire. The structure was relatively complete but it was severely corroded. At that time, volunteers said that they would repair the country. And the region has important fighters.

The location of the "Jet Age" Aviation Museum is just across the street from the birthplace of the Typhoon. With this advantage, the museum has lost no time in advancing this project. After a preliminary understanding of Renishaw's additive manufacturing capabilities, the pavilion wrote a letter to Sir David McMurtry, Chairman and CEO of the global engineering company. In the letter, the "Jet Age" Aviation Museum asked Renishaw to help re-create the two brackets on the Hawker typhoon fighter fuselage - such brackets are extremely rare in similar aircraft. Renishaw’s reply did not disappoint the museum.

challenge

The museum can't find alternatives to the original brackets, and it's hard to find a manufacturer that can accurately replicate these parts. Although the "Jet Age" Aviation Museum does not have the original support of the aircraft cockpit, it preserved the original design drawings of the part in 1938, and can also borrow the cockpit bracket of another typhoon fighter for reference.

After initial communication between the two parties, Renishaw believes that it has the ability to remanufacture such a bracket using a metal additive manufacturing system. “The Hawker Typhoon fighter is an extremely important part of Gloucester’s historical heritage,” explains Trevor Davies, sponsor of the Typhoon Fighter Project of the Jet Ages Aviation Museum. “We copied the turret of the typhoon fighter cockpit from the last century. The aircraft factory of the era was less than a mile. Bringing the original typhoon fighters back to the city is not only an amazing engineering miracle for us, but also a re-creation of history."

“In the process of trying to copy the cockpit bracket, we have contacted many engineering companies,” Davies continued. “But the shape of these brackets is very unique, which means that even if we have original design drawings, those that provide CNC machining The company of the product is also not confident that it can produce fully accurate finished parts. When we learned about Renishaw's additive manufacturing technology and its design flexibility, we immediately sought help from it.” “The typhoon preserved by the museum The original drawings of the aircraft date back to 1938, and all measurements were made in imperial units," Renishaw development engineer Joshua Whitmore said. "In addition, the drawings of one of the cockpit brackets have been lost, which means that The part was measured in more detail. Since the existing bracket was borrowed from another Hawker typhoon fighter, Renishaw had to return it within the specified time. This put a lot of pressure on the project." "We must not Do not calculate dimensions based on a set of incomplete original drawings: traditional measurements such as digital vernier calipers The tool takes measurements and plots the relevant projections. Eventually we get most of the missing critical dimensions while completing the estimation of non-critical dimensions. Then we convert the dimensions from metric to imperial,” adds Whitmore, “although this The process was time consuming, but after about two weeks we managed to get the prototype data for the stent."

The shape of these brackets is unique, which means that even though the "Jet Age" Aviation Museum has original design drawings, companies that offer CNC machining products are not confident that they can produce fully accurate finished parts.

solution

Only 3,317 typhoon fighters were produced before and after the typhoon, and there is not much left today; no aircraft can return to the sky.

Based on the original design drawings and other measurement data, Renishaw created a 3D digital model of a typhoon fighter cockpit bracket using Siemens NX 7.5 CAD software. In this way, Renishaw can perform parametric modeling and direct surface modeling to generate digital copies of parts.

After completing the digital modeling, engineers used 3D printing technology to create prototype parts made of polycarbonate plastic. Subsequently, Renishaw transported the parts to the workshops of the museum and installed them on the cockpit of the aircraft to verify that the specifications were correct. When engineers confirmed that these parts were accurate, Renishaw facilitated the formal production of metal parts using additive manufacturing technology.

The Gloucestershire Aircraft Company originally used cockpit brackets for typhoon fighters made of aluminum. This is because metallic aluminum has some excellent physical properties such as low density (thus light weight), high strength and good ductility. Prior to the production of finished metal parts that met performance requirements, Renishaw occasionally used additive manufacturing techniques to make plastic prototype parts.

Renishaw used aluminum powder to produce metal brackets on its AM250 additive manufacturing system. The entire part was completed in four passes; the surface of the part was then finished using sandblasting and hand-grinding.

result

Renishaw uses aluminum powder to produce metal brackets on its AM250 additive manufacturing system, and the entire part is completed in four passes.

Since Renishaw’s location is less than 30 miles from the Jet Age Aviation Museum, Renishaw engineers decided to hand over the finished bracket to the pavilion; in May 2016, the parts delivery was officially completed, which coincided with Cool Aeronautics Aviation. The exhibition was held in a grand event, and Renishaw collaborated with the museum to showcase these components at the show and highlighted the advantages of additive manufacturing technology.

“We think that Renishaw’s contribution to the Typhoon Fighter Project, the Jet Age Aviation Museum, and Gloucester is hard to measure,” Davies said with a smile. “Without additive manufacturing technology, we will not be able to replicate these brackets — these The components are too unique, which is similar to the typhoon itself. By integrating tradition with innovation, Renishaw's help has enabled this project, which was launched in 1998, to continue and push this British National Treasure Fighter in its The birthplace reproduces brilliance. We regularly hold lectures for teachers and students in the museum to showcase the fighters and introduce their significance to the history of World War II in Britain.

The components on an ancient fighter can be replicated in such an innovative way – we hope to inspire the younger generation's interest in aerospace technology and engineering. Additive manufacturing technology adds a touch of brilliance to the glorious history of typhoon fighters. ”

Renishaw successfully restored these components in accordance with the 1938 ancient drawings by using additive manufacturing methods and using original materials to produce the cockpit brackets. After successfully completing the replication of the cockpit bracket, Renishaw has begun discussing the next exciting project with the Jet Age Aviation Museum: another important component of the typhoon fighter, the Napier Sabre piston engine, returns to Gloucester.

Renishaw used the latest metal additive manufacturing technology to produce the cockpit bracket, allowing the typhoon fighter to be restored as planned.

The "Jet Age" Aviation Museum regularly displays Hawke Typhoon fighters and introduces the public to its significance for the history of World War II in Britain. Additive manufacturing technology adds a touch of brilliance to the glorious history of typhoon fighters, and the museum hopes to inspire younger generations' interest in aerospace technology and engineering.