Additive manufacturing for Aerospace

Additive Manufacturing aka 3D printing opens up a whole new era for digital design and manufacturing. No longer is the aerospace engineering designer constrained by the ability to manufacture a component. The new philosophy is “if you can design it, we can produce it”. Yet there is a laundry list of caveats with the current state of the technology especially as it applies to aerospace applications and in particular, launch vehicles. Use of polymer based materials has caught hold in production tooling, yet use of polymers and metals for actual flight applications faces challenges until the technology catches up with the specific needs of the Aerospace industry. Launch vehicle applications may prove to be the bounding arena for aerospace applications. Consider the need for perfection in quality, temperature extremes from cryogenic commodities to rocket engine exhaust, shock and vibration conditions, and the grand size. However, given the variety of exquisite designs and low volume, aerospace applications are well suited for Additive Manufacturing. The challenges of today are already being solved and incorporated into the technology of tomorrow. It is simply a matter of time before AM finds not only a foot hold in aerospace but becomes the manufacturing tool of choice.