ITP Aero and IMDEA Materials collaborate on an industry leading R&D programme to simulate 3D manufacturing

ITP Aero and IMDEA Materials are collaborating on an R&D programme called ENVIDIA which aims to develop software capable of simulating the production of aeronautical components using additive layer manufacturing technologies (also known as 3D printers). This programme’s activities began in mid-2018, with the intention of completing the development of this technology during 2021. This milestone would make ITP Aero and IMDEA Materials world pioneers in this type of simulation, giving both organisations a privileged position in terms of additive layer production simulation.

ENVIDIA is part of the Challenges Collaboration programme run by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation. The culmination of this project will be the generation of a virtual platform that can be integrated into the R&D activities of ITP Aero and, subsequently become part of its industrial production chain.

The development of this technology will provide a differential competitive advantage when it comes to simulating the final result of the manufacturing process, and will therefore allow the design to be efficiently optimised and the cost and time of development and certification to be reduced. In turn, this strategy will allow IMDEA Materials to extend the progress achieved in the case of nickel super alloys to other metallic materials.

Erlantz Cristóbal, Executive Director of Technology at ITP Aero, comments that: “ENVIDIA is the result of our commitment to collaborating with technology centres and universities, one of the cornerstones of our plan to develop proprietary technology and digitalisation. I have no doubt that ENVIDIA’s results will provide us with a competitive advantage in a technological area as important as additive manufacturing, consolidating ITP Aero’s position as a leading global technology company”.  

In addition to simulation, ITP Aero works on other digitisation projects such as systems integration, cyber security, augmented reality, big data, automation and robotics.

About IMDEA Materiales

IMDEA Materials Institute, one of Madrid’s seven Institutes for Advanced Studies (IMDEA), is a public research centre founded in 2007 by the regional government of the Community of Madrid. The aim of the Institute is to develop science at the cutting edge of knowledge in Materials Science and Engineering, attracting talent from all over the world, and collaborating with companies in an effort to transfer and convert fundamental and applied knowledge into high value-added technologies.

More information: https://materiales.imdea.org/

More about ITP Aero

ITP Aero is a world leading company within its market, currently the ninth largest aircraft engine and components company in the world by revenue. Ranking among the top one hundred companies in the aerospace industry. The company employs over 4,000 people at its production centres in Spain, United Kingdom, Mexico, Malta and India.

ITP Aero includes among its activities the design, research and development, manufacturing and casting, assembly and testing of aeronautical modules and engines. It also provides MRO services for a wide range of engines for regional airlines, business aviation, helicopters, industrial and defense applications. ITP Aero operates as a corporate entity within the Rolls-Royce group.

Contact:
Louis Trollope
Communication Specialist
M: (+34) 610 267 334
louisjon.trollope@itpaero.com