Podcast about our pioneering

Check out the TU Delft Pioneering Tech Podcast: Building aircraft without drilled holes for mechanical fasteners through ultrasonic welding. Starring: SAM XL!

Why should we reduce traditional mechanical fasteners to make aircraft lighter, stronger and more sustainable? In the Pioneering Tech Podcast, Delft University of Technology explores how SAM XL bridges the gap between fundamental research and industry.

Programme Manager Martin Kampinga explains how we are driving a revolution in aircraft manufacturing:

• High-frequency mechanical vibrations generate frictional heat that bonds materials at molecular level, without drilling holes into loadbearing carbon fibres.
• The technique requires no adhesives or other chemicals, making structures lighter and preventing degradation of the joint.
• Advanced robots will apply this precision technology to enormous components.

For industry, ultrasonic welding offers a more efficient production process, as well as a significant leap forward in sustainability. Lighter aircraft structures directly reduce fuel consumption and as such the CO2 emissions while lower operating costs. SAM XL translates complex TU Delft knowledge into practical, scalable solutions that strengthen the competitive position of European manufacturing industry.

The SAM XL team that works on this technology: Bram Jongbloed, our lead engineer that pushes the boundaries of manufacturing to further develop this technology, together with the other team members: Sungi Han, Johan van Stuyvesant Meijen, Nigel van Nierop, Menno Verkade, Berthil Grashof, Abhas Choudhary, André Florindo.

Special credits to Associate Professor Irene Fernandez Villegas, who was the driving force from the TU Delft faculty of Aerospace Engineering.

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