Case Study: Nexteam achieves a 40% lighter aircraft hinge with ExOne sand 3D printing

Nexteam casts a magnesium aircraft hinge 40% lighter with ExOne

Nexteam, a France-based foundry supplying high-integrity metal components to the aerospace and other demanding sectors, sought to demonstrate how to create a lighter aircraft door hinge for a global aerospace company. Their challenge was to use 3D printing to sandcast a magnesium part that would offer meaningful weight and performance improvements over their standard aluminum hinges, utilizing ExOne's binder jetting technology.

Using ExOne's S-Max® sand 3D printers to produce the sand cores, Nexteam created a hybrid casting package with a traditional mold. The solution resulted in a successful pour on the first attempt, producing a demonstration magnesium door hinge that weighed only 5.9 kilograms. This achieved a 40% reduction in weight compared to their standard 10-kilogram aluminum part, showcasing a significant measurable impact for lightweighting in aerospace applications.

Nexteam