Driving Efficiency Gains Up and Costs Down with FLIGHT DECK

A cross-functional, cross-business team from GE Aerospace’s Propulsion & Additive Technologies (P&AT) business is applying FLIGHT DECK fundamentals, GE Aerospace’s proprietary lean operating model, to continuously improve the powder handling process used in metal additive manufacturing and drive tangible benefits. 

An ongoing focus is identifying ways, wing to wing, to reduce the production cost of 3D-printed TiAl (titanium aluminide) low-pressure turbine (LPT) engine blades used in the GE9X engine, which powers the Boeing 777 airliner.

“Streamlining the metal powder handling process along with other initiatives has the potential to drive down the manufacturing target cost defined during the development phase and to make additive manufacturing competitive with conventional casting,” says Dario Mantegazza, chief additive manufacturing engineer at Avio Aero.

 

Genba, Problem-Solving, and Value Stream Mapping

Avio Aero manufactures over 18,000 low-pressure turbine (LPT) blades each year at its site in Cameri, Italy, on a fleet of 50 Colibrium Additive electron beam melting 3D printers, using titanium aluminide (TiAl) alloy powder manufactured by Colibrium Additive’s metal powder business, AP&C.

“We have a great working relationship with our sister companies, dating back two decades,” Mantegazza explains. “However, we collectively realized that, over time, our metal powder handling processes had become overly complex. We saw an opportunity to apply FLIGHT DECK and have a tangible impact.” 

“FLIGHT DECK is not a tool; it is an operating framework — the way we connect our company strategy to operations to drive results,” he adds. “It is embedded in our daily work and gives us a uniform way of operating to ensure we focus on what is important.”

 

 

Mantegazza reached out to a core team of six colleagues and powder handling experts at Avio Aero, Colibrium Additive, and AP&C — all GE Aerospace businesses. The team was charged with exploring ways to reduce the loss of powder and driving safety improvements (further reducing exposure), quality improvements (reducing opportunities for contamination), and delivery and cost improvements (reducing waste).

This past March, the team, facilitated by Luca Bosio, cost of quality leader at Avio Aero, met at AP&C’s site in Montreal, Canada — where the titanium alloy powder is manufactured — to review the current handling processes, with a specific focus on safety and contamination risks. 

To better understand the opportunity at hand, the team went to genba to observe the process. To fully understand the points of waste and handoff points, the team created a value stream. It was from there that they were able to identify areas to problem-solve and improve.

The team’s value stream map identified 14 improvement opportunities, including:

• Safety: moving all powder handling operations into a closed-loop system
• Quality: simplifying the process to reduce opportunity for errors
• Delivery: removing waste such as overprocessing and overinspection
• Cost: focusing on what is really needed from the most basic items, such as packaging (using larger containers in standard format) and finding the right balance between supplier processes and customer requirements

“FLIGHT DECK gives us a common, standardized language, making it easier to understand and to be understood,” says Andrea Palumbo, Avio Aero consulting engineer. “Everyone is on the same page more quickly and takes a common approach to improvement, fostering both a better and faster process.” 

 

 

Genba and Yokoten 

Building on the preparatory work and actions resulting from the kick-off in Canada, the team held further genba walks and a formal “yokoten” in Cameri this past June. 

The yokoten format is designed as a forum to share best practices and lessons learned and to explore solutions to drive continuous improvement across the organization. Ally Stahl, a GE Aerospace materials engineering colleague, was invited to observe the yokoten and provide fresh eyes and insights from the company’s wider additive technology value chain.

Specifically, the team focused on transferring knowledge on the “physical” powder management flow across AP&C, Colibrium Additive, and Avio Aero, including: exploring new solutions or improving existing solutions for filling printer hoppers without manual intervention and sieving; managing loading, unloading, and sealing the powder-recycling system; and reviewing the process to find solutions for transferring powder between containers and transportation in barrels. Beyond that the team discussed budget estimates for the solutions first identified in Montreal and made a plan to implement all of the agreed upon solutions. 

“Through yokoten we identified key AP&C equipment that can work at Avio Aero’s sites. We also looked for more ideas to continuously improve other processes relating to the metal powders,” says Marie Eve Lahaie, FLIGHT DECK leader at AP&C. 

“FLIGHT DECK provides us with a structured way to work together across teams,” she adds. “By the end of this yokoten we were able to identify solutions and agree on an action plan focused on productivity and reducing powder waste. This will have a direct effect on the cost of our products.” 

 

Results and Next Steps

FLIGHT DECK is enabling the team to focus on continuous improvement, fostering deeper collaboration among effective teams and transferring knowledge across GE Aerospace’s wider additive technology community. In fact, the team’s work is already having the tangible business benefits Mantegazza envisioned. 

 

 

“Streamlining the metal powder handling process, along with other initiatives, has the potential to drive down the manufacturing target cost defined during the development phase and to make additive manufacturing competitive with conventional casting,” says Mantegazza. 

“Following our yokoten, the team also aligned on a series of next steps, with a focus on a complete overhaul of the powder management process at Avio Aero, including the elimination of four unnecessary steps we have identified,” he adds. “Our colleagues at AP&C will also advise us on the layout and position of future equipment.” 

In the spirit of continuous improvement, the team also discussed future technology needs, including the potential development of automated powder-handling solutions to minimize the risk of powder spillages and improve operator safety.

“We are only at the beginning with FLIGHT DECK,” says Fabiana Panni, Avio Aero FLIGHT DECK leader. “We started with empowerment from our leadership and the goodwill of our employees to search for excellence. I am excited to see how it extends across all our functions and businesses with the P&AT business.”