Pratt & Whitney is preparing to produce compressor stators and synch ring brackets for its PurePower PW1500G engines using additive manufacturing technique.

The PurePower PW1500G engines are designed to power Bombardier CSeries aircraft. The first production engine will be delivered to Bombardier later this year.

Using additive manufacturing, Pratt & Whitney has so far produced more than 100,000 prototype parts for the PurePower Geared Turbofan engines.

Pratt & Whitney engineering vice-president Tom Prete said: "We are a vertically integrated additive manufacturing producer with our own metal powder source and the printers necessary to create parts using this innovative technology.

"We have engine-tested components produced through additive manufacturing in the PW1500G."

"As a technology leader, we are intrigued by the potential of additive manufacturing to support our suite of technologies and benefits to customers and the global aerospace industry."

Also called 3D printing, additive manufacturing builds parts and products using successive layers of material laid down under computer control.

Pratt & Whitney manufacturing engineering and global services chief engineer Lynn Gambill said: "Additive manufacturing offers significant benefits to the production of jet engines.

"We have engine-tested components produced through additive manufacturing in the PW1500G."

According to Pratt & Whitney, the PurePower engines will be the first to be produced using 3D printing powder bed additive manufacturing.

Other technologies used for the engines include metal injection moulding, electron beam melt and laser powder bed fusion.

Pratt & Whitney has partnered with the University of Connecticut to accelerate additive manufacturing research and development and work on metal powder bed technologies.