EVENDALE, OHIO March 5, 2015 – Additive manufacturing pioneer Greg Morris is the 2015 recipient of the prestigious Aviation Week Laureate Award for Technology. Morris was recognized for his leadership in industrializing additive manufacturing technology (also known as 3D printing). The award was presented March 5 at a ceremony in Washington, D.C.
“Additive manufacturing is a technology that I believe will fundamentally change the way we think about how we design our parts, how we manufacture components and ultimately how our products look and function,” said Morris, GE Aviation’s General Manager for Additive Technologies. “All of us that work with additive technology at GE feel extremely fortunate to be part of an organization that has embraced this technology as fully as GE Aviation has.”
Technologies developed by Morris are at the heart of GE Aviation’s aggressive push into additive manufacturing. Additive manufacturing is a breakthrough technology opening new frontiers in design and manufacturing, enabling creation of lighter, simpler and more durable parts.
“If you are looking for an inspirational story of how aviation can take a rapidly evolving commercial technology, apply it to the heart of an engine with an elegant and efficient design, and drive a massive investment in a totally new manufacturing capability, then that is the story of Greg Morris, General Electric and additive manufacturing,” said Aviation Week Editor-in-Chief Joe Anselmo.
Aviation Week’s Laureate Awards were conceived over 50 years ago to recognize the extraordinary achievements of individuals and teams in aviation, aerospace, and defense. With a global circulation of more than 100,000 readers, Aviation Week is widely regarded as one of the premier media outlets in the global aerospace industry. Laureate winners “embody the spirit of exploration, innovation, vision or any combination of these attributes that inspire others to strive for significant, broad-reaching progress in aviation and aerospace.”
Unlike traditional manufacturing methods that mill parts from a slab of metal, additive manufacturing "grows" parts directly from a CAD file using layers of fine metal powder and an electron beam or laser. The result is complex, fully dense parts without the waste, manufactured in a fraction of the time it would take using other methods.
In 2012, GE Aviation acquired Cincinnati-based Morris Technologies, which Greg Morris founded in 1994 with Wendell Morris and Bill Noack. For many years, Morris Technologies was a key GE supplier engaged in unique and highly-proprietary processes, and was recognized globally as a leader in additive manufacturing. Since the acquisition, Morris has been focused on adapting additive technology for large-scale production.
Later this year, GE will begin using additive manufacturing to create the most complex components of its newest fuel nozzles in a new $50 million, 300,000 square-foot facility in Auburn, AL. Fuel nozzles are an intricate and highly sophisticated engine component that are key to delivering industry-leading fuel efficiency and lower emissions for next-generation jet engines. The nozzles will be on the best-selling LEAP jet engine, which is being developed by CFM International, a 50/50 joint company of GE and Snecma (Safran) of France.
LEAP variants have been selected to power the Airbus A320neo, Boeing 737 MAX and COMAC C919 airliners. FAA certification of the first LEAP engine is expected later this year. The LEAP engine has experienced the fastest order ramp up in commercial aviation history, with more than 8,650 total orders and commitments.
This is the first time such a complex component will be manufactured using additive technology. There are 19 nozzles per engine, and production will ramp up quickly over the next five years, going from 1,000 fuel nozzles manufactured annually to more than 40,000 by 2020.
About GE Aviation GE Aviation, an operating unit of GE (NYSE: GE), is a world-leading provider of jet, turboshaft and turboprop engines, components and integrated systems for commercial, military, business and general aviation aircraft. GE Aviation has a global service network to support these offerings. For more information, visit us at www.ge.com/aviation. Follow GE Aviation on Twitter at http://twitter.com/GEAviation and YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/GEAviation.