月份: 2019 年 1 月

航空業競爭激烈，尤其是此前波音曾被川普嫌太貴退單，如何降低成本變成航空業的燃眉之急。與波音合作的挪威 3D 金屬列印公司表示，若使用其技術列印的鈦合金零件，將可讓每台飛機的造價降低 300 萬美元。

The aviation industry is fiercely competitive, especially since Boeing was once too expensive to be refunded by USA Donald John Trump. How to reduce costs has become an urgent need for the aviation industry.

眾所皆知，現代的大型航空器為了兼顧強度與重量以及其他必要的金屬參數，通常都會採用鈦合金，然而這並不是便宜的金屬，其造價比鋁合金高出 7 倍，據業內人士估計，打造客機光是鈦合金成本就高達 1,780 萬美元，所以波音公司一直以來想要克服這個問題，若能在這方面有領先突破，的確將增加波音對老敵手空中巴士的競爭力。

It is well known that modern large aircraft usually use titanium alloy in order to balance strength and weight with other necessary metal parameters. However, this is not a cheap metal, and its cost is 7 times higher than that of aluminum alloy. According to industry estimates, The cost of building a passenger aircraft is as high as $17.8 million. So Boeing has always wanted to overcome this problem. If there is a leading breakthrough in this area, it will indeed increase the competitiveness of Boeing against the old rival Airbus.

雖然通用電氣已經在用 3D 列印技術生產其發動機的金屬燃料噴嘴，但因強度問題，將此技術直接應用在飛機的結構零件上其實是很大的嘗試。近期，波音公司就與 Norsk Titanium 公司合作，為波音 787 Dreamliner 夢幻客機列印出鈦合金零組件。Norsk Titanium 是一家挪威 3D 金屬列印公司，其聲稱，假如使用 3D 列印技術將可降低波音 200 萬至 300 萬美元的製造成本。

Although GE has already produced metal fuel nozzles for its engines using 3D printing technology, it is a big attempt to apply this technology directly to structural parts of aircraft due to strength issues. Boeing recently partnered with Norsk Titanium to print titanium alloy components for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Norsk Titanium, a Norwegian 3D metal printing company, claims that the use of 3D printing technology will reduce the manufacturing cost of Boeing from $2 million to $3 million.

不過用 3D 列印技術所生產的零件強度，到底能否媲美原有的機械鍛造技術一直是關鍵問題。Norsk Titanium的營銷副總裁 Chip Yates 受訪時表示，他們與波音合作研發了一年多，並設計出 4 款 787 的零組件，並已獲得聯邦航空管理局（FAA）認證，且預計美國監管機構將於 2017 年末開始批准航空業採用 3D 印刷零件和生產流程。不過，波音公司目前尚未對此回應。

However, whether the strength of parts produced by 3D printing technology can match the original mechanical forging technology has always been a key issue. Chip Yates, vice president of marketing at Norsk Titanium, said that they have been working with Boeing for more than a year and have designed four 787 components that have been certified by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and are expected to be US regulators. The adoption of 3D printed parts and production processes in the aviation industry will begin in late 2017. However, Boeing has not yet responded to this.

Chip Yates 強調，若 Norsk Titanium 未來能為每架波音 787 打印所有數千個零件，不再需要一件件單獨審批，將會使其製造成本大幅降低。預計從 2018 年將會開始更廣泛的使用此技術，這也表示 3D 列印技術開始被工業採納，以取代傳統的昂貴鍛造工藝。

Chip Yates emphasizes that if Norsk Titanium can print all of the thousands of parts for each Boeing 787 in the future, it will no longer require a separate approval, which will significantly reduce its manufacturing costs. The wider use of this technology is expected from 2018, which also means that 3D printing technology has begun to be adopted by industry to replace the traditional expensive forging process.

文章來源：https://finance.technews.tw/2017/04/11/boeing-3d-printing-to-manufacture-titanium-parts-will-save-millions-of-dollars/

之前報導過 Uber 計劃未來在市場上推出VTOL 垂直起降直升機，現在波音公司也加入這一行列啦！近日，波音公司獲得一項新專利：可搭載 100 名乘客的傾轉旋翼垂直起降客機。該客機將常規飛機的速度、範圍與直升機的垂直起降及懸停能力完美結合起來。

Previously reported that Uber plans to launch VTOL vertical takeoff and landing helicopters in the market in the future, and now Boeing has joined the ranks! Recently, Boeing has obtained a new patent: a tilting rotor that can carry 100 passengers to take off and land vertically. The aircraft combines the speed and range of a conventional aircraft with the helicopter’s vertical takeoff and landing and hovering capabilities.

波音的這架新型垂直起降客機和傳統飛機一樣，其傾轉旋翼位置很低，因此不需要特殊的碰撞加固，並可以進行水上降落。此外，它可以在機翼油箱攜帶燃料，可從傳統的機場起降。其引擎是固定的，這簡化了許多系統並減輕了機翼的重量，並提高與地面的間隙和有效載荷的能力。

Boeing’s new vertical take-off and landing aircraft, like the traditional aircraft, has a low tilting rotor position, so no special collision reinforcement is required and water landing is possible. In addition, it can carry fuel in the wing tank and can take off and land from a traditional airport. The engine is fixed, which simplifies many systems and reduces the weight of the wing and increases the clearance and payload capacity with the ground.

波音公司在軍事領域的垂直起降機上積累了豐富的經驗，比如 V-22 魚鷹式傾轉旋翼機及其衍生物。但現有的可傾轉旋翼機大多不適合民用，即便是用於民用的 AugustWestland BA609，也只能一次搭載 6 到 9 名乘客，無法滿足大規模客運需求以 V-22 魚鷹式傾轉旋翼機為例，該機型採用的是上單翼式設計，需要有一個沉重的構造設計來給予引擎額外的支撐力，同時要保護機身在墜落時不被損毀。

Boeing has accumulated extensive experience in military vertical hoists, such as the V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor and its derivatives. However, most of the existing tilting rotorcraft are not suitable for civilian use. Even the AugustWestland BA609 for civilian use can only carry 6 to 9 passengers at a time, which cannot meet the needs of large-scale passenger transportation. Take the V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor as an example. The model uses an upper single-wing design that requires a heavy construction design to give the engine extra support while protecting the fuselage from damage during a fall.

這一設計也讓飛機的維護和燃料供給變得很困難，而且其不能在水上迫降時不能浮於水面還將帶來安全方面的問題。此外，因為機翼太高的緣故，如果用於存放燃料則有洩漏至機身和機艙裡的危險。現有的多數民航機場的跑道都是為下單翼客機設計的，因此上單翼飛機的滑行、裝卸貨物都成了問題。

This design also makes aircraft maintenance and fuel supply difficult, and its inability to float on the water when it is forced to land on the water will also pose safety problems. In addition, because the wings are too high, there is a danger of leaking into the fuselage and the cabin if used to store fuel. The existing runways of most civil aviation airports are designed for the lower single-wing passenger aircraft, so the taxiing and loading and unloading of the upper monoplane has become a problem.

另一個問題則是引擎的放置位置。多數可傾轉旋翼會搭載有兩個引擎，兩邊翼尖各一個，透過一個驅動軸共同分擔抬升荷重。為了安全起見，在設計時，通常會將兩邊引擎規格設計為實際所需的兩倍，以防其中一個引擎損壞也不影響飛行。如果兩個引擎被設計為互不相通，則兩個引擎規格則要變得更大，同時機翼也要擁有更大的承重力。

Another issue is where the engine is placed. Most tilting rotors are equipped with two engines, one for each wing tip, which share the lift load through a drive shaft. For safety reasons, the design of the two-sided engine is usually designed to be twice as large as it is required to prevent damage to one of the engines. If the two engines are designed to be disconnected from each other, the two engine specifications will be larger and the wing will have greater bearing capacity.

目前，新型垂直起降客機只是一個專利，還沒有跡象顯示這架飛機會被用於大量生產。

At present, the new vertical take-off and landing aircraft is only a patent, and there is no indication that the aircraft will be used for mass production.

文章來源：https://technews.tw/2016/11/01/boeing-new-patent-vertical-take-off-and-landing-aircraft-can-carry-100-people/