Rolls-Royce has opened a new Additive Manufacturing Development Cell at its Defence Assembly and Operations facility in Bristol, with Luke Pollard MP, Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry. Claire Hazelgrove, MP for Filton and Bradley Stoke, also attended the opening.
The cell, funded by the UK Ministry of Defence, uses German-engineered machinery housed in a custom-built 350 square metre space where humidity, temperature and air pressure are tightly controlled. It manufactures aerospace components layer by layer using metal super-alloy powders, melting them with laser beams to construct complex parts. Rolls-Royce says the process delivers reduced lead times, lower costs and greater efficiency compared to traditional methods.
The facility is expected to play a role in the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) and future combat power and propulsion work across defence and wider Rolls-Royce applications. Engineers are being specially trained to operate the cell, which the company says will sustain and create jobs at the Bristol site.
Andy Higginson, Senior Vice President of Manufacturing, Assembly and Test at Rolls-Royce, said: “Across Rolls-Royce we are committed to the continued development and enhancement of our technologies to meet the demands of today, while providing scalable infrastructure required for the future. Programmes like FCAS and GCAP will be fundamental to the UK’s future aerospace sector and capabilities like additive manufacturing will be crucial to enabling innovation at pace, driving cost savings and enhancing the skills and capabilities of our people.”
Pollard said: “This new facility in Bristol is a clear sign of UK industry investing in the skills and technology we need to stay ahead. By using the latest manufacturing techniques to build lighter, more efficient components, Rolls-Royce is helping to keep British engineers at the forefront of innovation – all the while creating and sustaining skilled jobs right here in Bristol.”
The precision of the additive manufacturing process also reduces raw material waste, as components are built up rather than machined down. Rolls-Royce says that lighter, optimised components produced in the cell will give future aircraft more power and better fuel efficiency.
Source: rolls-royce.com
