Etihad Airways Engineering and Diehl Aerosystems to Jointly Create 3D-Printed Parts

Etihad Airways Engineering has signed an agreement with Diehl Aerosystems to jointly design, manufacture and install a 3D-printed cabin plastic part on an aircraft for one of its customers.

Additive manufacturing – commonly referred to as 3D-printing – reduces lead time in design, decreases production costs and enables speedier manufacturing.

Etihad Airways Engineering and Diehl have collaborated to develop and manufacture an inflight entertainment (IFE) cover plate which will be installed in economy class seats on several aircraft of a Middle Eastern airline.

The two companies plan to create a range of products based on the experience gained from this pilot project.

Jeff Wilkinson, Etihad Airways Engineering Chief Executive Officer, said, “Etihad Airways Engineering is leveraging its Part 21J Design Organisation approval by EASA – with Diehl contributing as a Part 21G Production Organisation – in this pilot project. Our partnership with Diehl will help us commercialise this technology and make it available to our customers around the world.”

He explained that the 3D-printed part offered a cost saving of around 20 to 30%t, with the added benefit of not requiring tooling and avoiding any permanent modification to the seat. 

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