Additive Manufacturing (AM) of a Rotorcraft Gearbox Housing Independent Research & Development (IRAD) Project

Boeing's Advanced Drive Systems Engineering group explores the application of metallic Additive Manufacturing (AM) for reducing the development time for fabricating rotorcraft gearbox housings. In order to accomplish this, it required that a satisfactory level of material and process evaluation, mechanical coupon testing, part design, part analysis, and bench testing be conducted. The information presented in this paper provides an overview of the various phases of this effort.