Etihad Celebrates First Middle East 3D-printed Parts Facility

The Middle East’s first EASA-approved additive manufacturing center enables Etihad’s MRO division to make quicker repairs.

Opening Etihad’s new additive facility, (l to r) Bernhard Randerath and Abdul Khaliq Saeed of Etihad Engineering; Markus Glasser, EOS; Ernst Peter Fischer, German ambassador to the UAE; Marie Langer, EOS; Tony Douglas, Etihad Aviation Group; and Martin Black, BigRep.

By James Wynbrandt • Contributor - Business Aviation

November 18, 2019

At a ceremony attended by Ernst Peter Fischer, German Ambassador to the UAE, Etihad Engineering (Chalet S15) unveiled on Sunday the Middle East’s first additive manufacturing facility with design and production approval from the European Aviation Safety Agency, making it the first airline MRO to receive such approval to design, produce, and certify 3D-printed cabin parts using powder-bed fusion technology, according to Etihad.

The laboratory, created in partnership with EOS and BigRep, is located at the Etihad Engineering facility adjacent to Abu Dhabi International Airport and has two approved industrial 3D printers: the EOS P 396; and BigRep’s One, among the world’s largest serial-built thermoplastic-extrusion 3D printers. The EOS machine, with a total build volume of 340 x 340 x 600 mm, enables tool-free manufacture of serial components, spare parts, functional prototypes, and models directly from CAD data, while the ONE can manufacture large parts, jigs and fixtures, and molds.

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