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Lufthansa Technik redesigned a damage-prone polymer latch for metal 3D printing after finding it could not source the part as a standalone spare, cutting a recurring maintenance cost tied to roller shutter assemblies on the Airbus A330, A340 and A380 aircrafts.
The latch sits inside the roller shutter assembly and retains the roller brake and endcap in place. Repeated in-service wear caused the polymer version to fail, but OEMs would not sell it individually, forcing Lufthansa Technik to replace the entire roller shutter assembly at significant cost each time a latch broke.
Titanium redesign
Lufthansa Technik’s additive manufacturing team redesigned the component in titanium Ti6Al4V rather than reproducing it in polymer. The airline holds EASA Part 21.G and 21.J certifications, allowing it to design, manufacture and certify flight-ready parts in-house.
“The original part was an injection-molded polymer component with a complex geometry,” said David Rudolz, Project Engineer at Lufthansa Technik. “It was immediately identified as an ideal candidate for metal additive manufacturing.”
Materialise as production partner
Lufthansa Technik selected Materialise to manufacture the certified latch, citing the supplier’s EN 9100 certification for metal parts and its Metal Competence Center.
Materialise passed the required audit to qualify as a Lufthansa Technik supplier for metal 3D printed parts, and the two companies coordinated on the manufacturing process, process stability requirements and production controls.
“There’s been a strong partnership between Materialise and Lufthansa Technik for many years,” said Rudolz. “Materialise is one of our preferred partners and was our first choice for this project.”
The titanium latch is now flight-ready and in service. Its added strength extends the part’s expected lifespan and allows Lufthansa Technik to repair the roller shutter by replacing only the latch rather than the full assembly.
Materialise has since been named an official workbench for metal parts within Lufthansa Technik’s supply chain.