000153122 001__ 153122 000153122 005__ 20251017144627.0 000153122 0247_ $$2doi$$a10.3390/ma18061296 000153122 0248_ $$2sideral$$a143608 000153122 037__ $$aART-2025-143608 000153122 041__ $$aeng 000153122 100__ $$0(orcid)0000-0002-8008-4819$$aJavierre, Carlos$$uUniversidad de Zaragoza 000153122 245__ $$aRedesign of a flange wheel used in an airplane for composite manufacturing made with a mold with removable inserts manufactured by means of 3d printing: a comparison with the current conventional alternative, a turbine wheel machined out of aluminum 000153122 260__ $$c2025 000153122 5060_ $$aAccess copy available to the general public$$fUnrestricted 000153122 5203_ $$aThis work presents the redesign of an aircraft aluminum turbine wheel into a thermoplastic composite flange wheel with the support of 3D printing technology, which increases the turbine efficiency thanks to the introduction of the flange geometry, not possible with the current machined aluminum part. This work seeks the reduction of the aircraft’s structural weight by replacing metallic components with thermoplastic alternatives and proves the feasibility of producing a complex geometry product through injection molding, paving the way for manufacturing intricate designs using removable inserts created via 3D printing. This work has been developed within the INN-PAEK project of the H2020-CLEAN SKY 2 program. The thermoplastic component is produced using an innovative process that employs removable inserts in the mold, and its development has followed following three steps: redesign of aluminum part according to functional and plastic materials requirements, design of the mold, and validation of real plastic parts by means of tomography. This paper highlights highly positive results for the project, influenced by the new plastic flange wheel’s ability to achieve both weight reduction and an overall efficiency enhancement that decreases the aircraft’s kerosene consumption, and proves that 3D printing is a highly potential technology for complex thermoplastic part tooling production. 000153122 536__ $$9info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/DGA/T08-23R$$9info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/HORIZON EUROPE/101007865/EU/INNovative thermoplastic transformation processes to produce a flange wheel in PAEK reinforced with short fibres/INN-PAEK 000153122 540__ $$9info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess$$aby$$uhttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.es 000153122 655_4 $$ainfo:eu-repo/semantics/article$$vinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion 000153122 700__ $$aCamañes, Víctor$$uUniversidad de Zaragoza 000153122 700__ $$aVidal, Julio 000153122 700__ $$0(orcid)0000-0001-7178-4285$$aDieste, José Antonio$$uUniversidad de Zaragoza 000153122 700__ $$0(orcid)0000-0002-0544-0182$$aFernández, Ángel$$uUniversidad de Zaragoza 000153122 7102_ $$15004$$2545$$aUniversidad de Zaragoza$$bDpto. Ingeniería Mecánica$$cÁrea Ingeniería Mecánica 000153122 7102_ $$15002$$2515$$aUniversidad de Zaragoza$$bDpto. Ingeniería Diseño Fabri.$$cÁrea Ing. Procesos Fabricación 000153122 773__ $$g18, 6 (2025), 1296 [19 pp.]$$pMaterials (Basel)$$tMaterials$$x1996-1944 000153122 8564_ $$s696893$$uhttps://zaguan.unizar.es/record/153122/files/texto_completo.pdf$$yVersión publicada 000153122 8564_ $$s2712296$$uhttps://zaguan.unizar.es/record/153122/files/texto_completo.jpg?subformat=icon$$xicon$$yVersión publicada 000153122 909CO $$ooai:zaguan.unizar.es:153122$$particulos$$pdriver 000153122 951__ $$a2025-10-17-14:24:39 000153122 980__ $$aARTICLE