Northwest UAV Propulsion Systems Purchases EOS Laser Sintering Equipment

By DE Editors

EOS GmbH Electro Optical Systems (EOS) (Krailling/Munchen, Germany) announced that Northwest UAV Propulsion Systems (NWUAV), an aerospace supplier, has purchased an EOSINT P 390 plastics laser-sintering machine to produce high-quality aircraft components, including laser-sintered PA 2201 and PrimePart DC parts for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

Unmanned aerial vehicle (left) from Insitu, Inc., features laser-sintered plastic parts that Northwest UAV Propulsion systems manufactures with its EOSINT P 390 plastics laser-sintering machine (right). Images courtesy of Insitu Inc., Bingen WA, and Northwest UAV Propulsion Systems, McMinnville, OR; EOS

The greatest challenge for NWUAV is meeting the tight tolerances and consistent quality requirements characteristic of aircraft designs. NWUAV manufactures complex cylinder head temperature controllers, cylinder head shrouds and a variety of other parts for UAVs from Insitu, Inc. Using the EOSINT P 390, NWUAV has been able to provide consistent, uniform, high-quality production parts that eliminate the need for secondary finishing operations such as sanding.

Before rapid manufacturing, NWUAV ordered the parts from an outside vendor and performed sanding and other finishing processes on them. By purchasing the P 390 and manufacturing the parts in-house, NWUAV has reduced the company’s supply chain and infrastructure costs such as part inspection, inventory, and storage. Northwest is now able to supply the components just-in-time and implement design changes within a couple of days versus weeks.

Using EOS training and technicians, NWUAV was able to go from installation to part production on the P 390 in just ten days.

Northwest ULD Inc., doing business as Northwest UAV Propulsion Systems, was founded in 2002 and has produced over 1,500 turnkey propulsion systems for Insitu Inc. of Bingen, WA. For more information visit Northwest ULD Inc. EOS was founded in 1989 and is today a leading manufacturer of laser-sintering systems. Visit EOS for details.

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company’s website.