Collins Aerospace Breaks Ground on $14 million Iowa AM Center Expansion

   
                                                                                                     AM shovels used during the groundbreaking ceremony.

After opening a large new additive manufacturing facility in Monroe, North Carolina last month, Collins Aerospace broke ground on a $14 million expansion of its additive manufacturing center in West Des Moines, Iowa.

The 9,000-square-foot expansion will allow Collins to make room for more 3D metal printers, in addition to the already onsite. The first new printer, the giant NXG XII 600 12-laser system from SLM Solutions, will have eight times the build volume of the existing printers and Collins expects it to be fully operational in late 2023.

Collins’ 41,000-square-foot West Des Moines facility is a world leader in the design and production of fuel nozzles for commercial and military aircraft. The company will use the new machines to enhance current production capabilities and expand the portfolio of metals it can use to additively produce engine components at the site.

“With this expansion, we will significantly increase our additive manufacturing capacity and enhance our ability to produce more parts faster for our airframe and engine customers,” said Renee Begley, West Des Moines site lead for Collins Aerospace. “Compared to traditional manufacturing, additive offers several key benefits as the optimized designs not only reduce cost but can also reduce delivery lead times dramatically. Additive also allows us to produce parts that are much lighter, enabling reduced aircraft fuel consumption and reduced carbon emissions—a key to more sustainable flight.”

Additive manufacturing is a critical focus area for Collins. In June, the company opened the new additive manufacturing center at its campus in Monroe, N.C. To support the next generation of aircraft with state-of-the-art systems, Collins maintains a global network of additive production centers in Iowa, Minnesota, North Carolina and Singapore, and an additive research center in Connecticut.