Eaton achieves critical milestone in 3D printing by earning AS9100 Rev D certification

Power management company Eaton announced its Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence (AM CoE) in Southfield, Mich., earned its AS9100 Rev D certification. The certification, a comprehensive quality system for providing safe and reliable products to the aerospace industry, will enable Eaton to supply 3D printed metal components to civil and military aerospace customers.

"Earning our AS9100 certification is a critical milestone in our readiness for low rate initial production for the Aerospace market," said Ramanath Ramakrishnan, executive vice president and chief technology officer, Eaton. "Achieving this certification reinforces our commitment to quality and is an impressive accomplishment for our team in Southfield."

Eaton has made significant investments in the AM CoE since it opened in July 2016. Recently, the center added new metal and polymer 3D-printing equipment, which will allow it to serve as a low rate initial production facility for Eaton's businesses. The AM CoE actively works with Eaton's businesses to develop applications, train engineers and facilitate the rapid adoption of additive manufacturing technologies across the enterprise.

"In the future, we see a significant percentage of our Aerospace portfolio being manufactured through additive manufacturing processes," said Nanda Kumar, president, Aerospace Group, Eaton. "We see additive technologies as a growing opportunity that will continue to strengthen Eaton's competitive advantage. We look forward to leveraging the capabilities and infrastructure of our AM CoE to develop a pipeline of applications to deliver cost, performance and lead time benefits to our customers."