3D Printing for Aerospace
Aerospace applications of AM
From aesthetic cabin interior parts to functional components, a vast range of aircraft parts can be reliably and economically 3D printed today.
Customization, short series runs, and the potential for further lightweighting of components, means that additive manufacturing can play a key role in manufacturing the aircraft of the future — safely, efficiently, flexibly.
What can additive manufacturing do for you today? And tomorrow?
The aviation industry is navigating the most profound period of change since it first took to the skies. AM can help aerospace companies survive today, be profitable tomorrow and start building the future of flight.
Profitability
Smart and strategic use of AM improves the profitability of your manufacturing operations. It unlocks efficiency gains and improves plannability in your supply chain. Using 3D-printed aircraft parts can reduce stock risk and warehousing costs for spare parts, as well as reducing downtime for AOGs.
Agility
Short lead times and low tooling cost of AM give you manufacturing agility in times of uncertainty. The design freedoms of AM offer opportunities for more flexible designs, smaller series and faster changes for certain parts.
Future-proofing
Lightweight and bionic design, new materials, reimagined supply chains: the future of aviation is unimaginable without AM in it. Today, it can make your operations more sustainable, while building up the knowledge, processes and systems you need tomorrow.
Innovation
With AM, more is possible. It’s a manufacturing technique that doesn’t limit your imagination. Fast-iteration design, rapid prototyping, a complete rethinking of components and assemblies. AM allows you to innovate differently and get to something new faster.
Featured stories from 3D printing in aerospace
We’re a trusted AM partner to aerospace players of all sizes.
Here are a few examples of what we and our partners have achieved.
Interview
“We’re very fast and very careful. Which is very hard.”
The team at eVTOL start-up LIFT Aircraft talks about its radical mission: to democratize flight
Case Study
Airbus Gets on Board with 3D Printing
Article
Expleo Makes Flight-Ready Spare Parts Smarter with AM
Case Study
How Materialise Software Solutions Helped to Create the World’s Largest Jet Engine
Take the next step
We support aerospace OEMs, MROs, eVTOLs and Tier suppliers with manufacturing services and software. Speak with our aerospace team to discover more.