Hermeus, a renowned name in manufacturing hypersonic planes, has been changing the landscape as it plans to manufacture parts of its planes with a 3D-printed body. For this, the company has acquired the Sapphire and Sapphire XC printers from Velo3D in order to print the Mach 5 Chimera and some of its Quarterhorse planes. Hermeus aims to make its hypersonic airplanes accessible to passengers and play its part in making air travel faster and safer. Its hypersonic aircrafts travel at a speed of Mach 5, or 3.800 mph, and this large-scale 3D printing will add more volume to its fleet.
It should be noted that Hermeus has also worked with NASA and the U.S. Airforce for the manufacturing of several parts of its hypersonic airplanes and this time, it has collaborated with Velo3D for an end-to-end metal additive printing. Glenn Case, who is a CTO at Hermeus, said, “Metal additive manufacturing is a core component of our plan to vertically integrate production. As we explore the capabilities of Velo3D’s additive manufacturing technology, we’ll be looking for ways to increase performance, consolidate components, reduce the weight of our aircraft, and minimize external dependencies.”
Regarding the concerns about hypersonic travel in the aviation industry, the CEO and founder of Velo3D, Benny Buller said that the aircraft will be much faster and safer than ever before. He further stated that although the concerns related to its speed, temperature and vibration are valid but due to the incorporation of Sapphire and Sapphire XC printers in the manufacturing of its parts, Hermeus is not going to crash anyway and will be a way more different than the normal airliners in the aviation industry in terms of its performance parameters, for good reasons.
Buller said, “There are not many teams with the deep experience in hypersonic, aviation, and space flight that Hermeus has, and we’re truly honored to provide Sapphire printers to help them achieve their goals. I have no doubt that they will bring their vision to life and make the hypersonic commercial flight a reality.” If all goes according to plans, Hermeus will be able to travel passengers across the Atlantic in just 90 minutes due to its incredibly fast speed. Well, of course, we don’t forget the capabilities of the Concorde but you would be amazed to know that it is twice as fast as the Concorde.
With this in mind, the company is also engaged in talks with some government organizations regarding the certifications and conducting safe operations in the civil sector.
