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Collins Aerospace expands plant in West Des Moines
$14 million addition using 3D metal printers for aircraft parts
Collins Aerospace has opened a $14 million, 9,000-square-foot addition to its manufacturing center in West Des Moines to house 3D metal printers.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds attended the ribbon-cutting Friday, saying in a statement, “Since 1933 when Collins was founded in Cedar Rapids, Iowa has been proud to be a home to this global manufacturing powerhouse.”
“Today's expansion in West Des Moines is a testament to the commitment Collins Aerospace has made to our state, and we're equally committed to providing the strong economic environment that will fuel its innovation here for decades more to come,” she said.
The new 3D printers are aimed at cutting costs, wait times and the backlog of orders for commercial airplane parts, the company said in a news release, as well as avoid supply chain issues.
The first 3D metal printer installed has eight times the build volume of the facility's existing printers, significantly increasing the center’s “additive manufacturing” capabilities, the news release stated.
"We believe that additive is the future of aerospace,“ Renee Begley, West Des Moines site lead, said Friday.
"Additive manufacturing has the potential to help us reduce weight, complexity, lead time and cost in the parts we supply.“
Once the components leave the 3D printers, they move to other areas of the facility to be cleaned and shined to a mirror finish, the Des Moines Register reported. By centralizing those tasks, Collins plans to significantly cut transportation costs and decrease its reliance on other suppliers.
The expansion has required the addition of 11 people, and the 3D printer itself can be managed by one person, the Register reported.
Collins bought its first additive manufacturing machine in 2016 and was among the first customers to buy the new 12-laser 3D NGX metal printers in 2020.
The West Des Moines facility is one of only eight in the U.S. to receive the National Aerospace and Defense Contractors Accreditation Program certification for additive manufacturing.
Collins Aerospace, the largest employer in Cedar Rapids, is a business of RTX. Collins has additive production centers in Iowa, Minnesota, North Carolina and Singapore and an additive research center in Connecticut.
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