GE Aviation announced plans Tuesday, July 15, to install the additive manufacturing process at its current facility in Auburn.
Gov. Robert Bentley and GE Aviation's president and CEO David Joyce, as well as other representatives of GE and Alabama, were on hand to celebrate the announcement made at the Farnborough Air Show at Farnborough Airport in Hampshire, England.
The Auburn additive manufacturing facility, the first of its kind, will start production in 2015.
The component the Auburn facility will produce is a fuel nozzle for the best-selling LEAP jet engine that CFM International is developing for service in 2016. The engine will power the Airbus A320neo, the Boeing 737 MAX and COMAC (China) C919 aircraft.
Additive manufacturing uses a metal powder, which is then melted with a computer-guided laser, to grow thin layers of metal. The metal particles fuse together to make the exact component needed, according to Tony Overfelt, professor of mechanical engineering at Auburn University.
Traditional manufacturing begins with large chunks of metal that are then machined, creating the needed component but also leaving a pile of unwanted remaining metal chips.
Additive manufacturing and, its more commonly used name, 3D-printing are the same concept.
Kelly Walsh, GE Aviation spokesperson, said plans for the additive manufacturing facility in Auburn were first talked about at last year's Paris Air Show when Joyce met with Bentley and Auburn mayor Bill Ham, Jr. At the show, the next generation of technology, and what it will look like, was discussed.
During the past year, GE Aviation, who has a proven track record because of increasing Auburn's workforce at its existing plant, recognized the benefits of placing additive manufacturing in Auburn.
Walsh said having additive manufacturing in Auburn would expand internship and full-time employment opportunities for engineering graduates at the University.
"This is a whole new generation of cutting edge technology," Walsh said.
Installation of equipment, for the facility, will continue throughout 2014. GE is expected to invest $50 million in preparation for production at the existing 300,000-square-foot facility, which opened in 2013.
Production will begin with approximately 1,000 nozzles the first year.
Production is expected to reach 40,000 nozzles at the end of the decade, and, as production increases, hiring at the facility will also increase.
Ham said he is excited about this the process coming to Auburn and expects over 200 well-paying jobs, with excellent benefits, to be created.
Ham also expects a positive effect on Auburn graduates as the facility hires more engineers.
"GE Aviation choosing Auburn is a testament to the cooperative efforts we have with Auburn University, the state and GE," Ham said.
Walsh said the additive manufacturing process will give mechanical engineers fewer limits, and more opportunities, to innovate in other components of jet engines.
"Additive is really the future of the industry," Walsh said.
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