Overture uses 100% sustainable aviation fuel, resulting in net-zero carbon emissions, while flying up to twice as fast as today's fastest airliners.The XB-1, a demo aircraft the company is launching in 2020, is currently undergoing net-zero carbon emissions flight testing.

Challenge

Attaching the various parts of the XB-1 demo airplane required drilling a large number of holes in the fuselage structure. Drilling the holes individually is very time-consuming, as each hole has to be positioned. In addition to this, fixtures are needed to support the drilling tool during the power drilling process and to support each hole at the correct angle. Drill guides are a practical solution, but conventional metal guides are costly and have long lead times.

Prescription

Boom engineers have 3D printed a multi-hole drilling guide to accurately locate fastener holes in larger areas of the fuselage structure.

The multi-hole drilling guide was printed on Fortus 450mc™ and F900™ printers using FDM® Nylon 12CF carbon fiber and ULTEM™ 9085 resin.

This tough, rigid thermoplastic is strong and stiff enough to support power drilling tools while accurately locating holes.

Effect

For just one typical hole guide, Boom saved nearly $3,700 USD (~RMB 24,000) in material costs and reduced lead times from weeks to days. To date, more than 700 hole guides have been 3D printed during production of the XB-1 demonstration aircraft, resulting in significant material cost savings. The lead time savings from 3D printing in-house have also had a very positive impact on the production schedule compared to machining.