As aircraft liveries trend
toward bolder and more intricate designs, Airbus is advancing
development of an innovative computer-based system for effectively
“printing” complicated graphics directly onto an aircraft’s surface.
This
high-potential technique – called direct printing – already has
demonstrated its capabilities for the automotive and home appliance
sectors, and is now being evaluated for use on Airbus’ fuel-saving
Sharklet wingtip devices.
Not only is direct printing highly flexible in terms
of reproducing colours or images, it also reduces the necessary
thickness for coatings. This can be a major consideration, as the amount
of dielectric coating per aircraft has direct implications related to
overall weight, electrical static discharge and lightning strikes. In addition, the technique can lead to faster
production times because it eliminates the need to mask and demask
surface areas being painted.
“This project is exciting for us as we are the first
aircraft manufacturer to consider using direct printing, and while we
have more tests to perform, it is a very promising technology,” said
Birgit Kuhlenschmidt of Airbus’ single-aisle product line paint shop in
Hamburg, Germany, who is closely involved with the project.
Successful evaluations have been conducted at the
supplier’s facility in Switzerland with a representative Sharklet
wingtip device, while key lab tests for adhesion, hydraulic fluid
resistance and flexibility already have been passed.
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