Thales 3D Morocco, a subsidiary of the Thales Group, and AddUp, a metal additive manufacturing company jointly owned by Michelin and Fives, have passed a special milestone and produced aluminum parts for aerospace and security applications.
AddUp installed and commissioned a FormUp 350 quad lasers machine in the Casablanca-based facility of Thales 3D Maroc. Qualified under the European space protocol ECSS-Q-ST-70-80 C, the FormUp 350 has met technical requirements for some of the most challenging applications in the Thales ecosystem.
One of the ECSS validation build in Aluminum: over 500 measures done to meet the challenging Thales criteria.
As part of this partnership, AddUp will also provide production assistance to Thales. Twin machines located in AddUp premises, are currently undergoing the same validation process so that they can ensure business continuity when demand increases above Thales capacity.
“We are thrilled to supply the FormUp 350 to a customer such as Thales. This is a milestone for us which confirms relevance of our product and business strategy” says Julien Marcilly, CEO AddUp. “
Thales has been an early adopter of metal additive manufacturing. Titanium and aluminum parts have been commonly used onboard satellites since 2015. To accelerate the use of the technology across its portfolio, Thales opened a 3D manufacturing facility in 2017 in Casablanca, Morocco, strategically located in the heart of the local aerospace ecosystem. The facility is specialized in the production of 3D parts which meet the high performance and quality standards required for critical applications in the Space, Aviation and Security domains, such as equipment and antenna supports, Radio Frequency components, heat sinks, etc.
“Working in partnership with AddUp to fine tune the FormUp350 machine will not only help us reach best–in-class productivity and HSE protection but will also help reduce the cost of controls thanks to advanced monitoring functions” says Xavier Crassous, International Operations and Partnerships Director. By adding this new multi-laser machine to Thales 3D Morocco production capability, we expect to significantly widen the range of Aluminum applications where we can bring innovation and competitiveness thanks to additive manufacturing.”
Two FormUp 350 from AddUp
The FormUp 350 is a modular, scalable metal additive manufacturing solution, designed and built by manufacturers for manufacturers. It meets customers’ highest expectations in terms of productivity and safety, while offering a best-in-class surface finish. The system is equipped with 4 lasers, each covering 100% of the fusion platform surface. It also enables metal powders to be maintained from end to end under inert gas and features advanced traceability and production control options.
