Helicopter Drive System Featuring Additive-Manufactured Components

Additive manufacturing constitutes an exciting avenue in the design of aerospace components, due to the archetypal capabilities of realizing complex geometries allowing for weight reduction. Although several attempts have been carried out to 3D print aerospace components, the number of parts installed on helicopter gearboxes is still limited, mainly due to their criticality. This paper unveils the design process leading to the manufacturing of two prototypical parts installed in the input module of a tilt-rotor drive system (Next Generation Civil Tilt-Rotor – NGCTR – Technology Demonstrator), mainly an auxiliary lubrication tank and a pump case. Specifically, this work illustrates the design constraints which have encouraged the adoption of a pioneering manufacturing process in the domain of aeronautic components. In addition, the approach employed to match these imposed boundary conditions is discussed, alongside with the final geometries resulting from an optimization process.