Additive Manufacturing for Aerospace & Space

Additive manufacturing is a key issue for aerospace manufacturers. They see the technology as a way to meet key challenges of the sector including lightweighting of aircraft’s parts and the scarcity of certain materials.

Airbus Helicopters saves on raw material and fuel costs with metal 3D printed parts

In a major development, aerospace giant Airbus Helicopters has used 3D printed parts created by high-tech manufacturing solutions provider  TRUMPF to improve its fuel consumption.  Now, Airbus Helicopters has used some TRUMPF metal 3D printers...

NASA builds 3D printed rover wheel prototype for future space exploration

The Oak Ridge National Laboratory which comes under the US Department of Energy took Additive Manufacturing to the next level by 3D printing the same kind of wheel as used by NASA for its...

BLT produces metal 3D printing piping and turbopump components for a 100-ton liquid oxygen methane engine

Metal 3D printer manufacturer Bright Laser Technologies (BLT) relied on its metal AM technology to support Beijing Star Glory Space Science & Technology Company (i-Space) in crafting piping and turbopump components for their 100-ton...

Agile Space Industries qualifies 6K Additive’s Nickel 625 powder for critical rocket parts

 6K Additive, a division of AM material producer 6K Inc. and Agile Space Industries are working on the certification of Ni625 powder for space applications including critical rocket parts. 6K Additive’s Ni625 powder could help produce parts...

NASA’s printed circuits may lead to more 3D printing applications

Engineers successfully tested hybrid printed circuits at the edge of space in an April 25 sounding rocket flight from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility near Chincoteague, Virginia. Electronic temperature and humidity sensors printed onto the...

Collins Aerospace opens $14 million Additive Manufacturing center in West Des Moines, Iowa

Collins Aerospace, a business of RTX, one of the largest aerospace and defense companies, recently opened a $14 million expansion of its additive manufacturing center in West Des Moines, Iowa. The 9,000-square-foot addition provides...

Marines demonstrate in-flight 3D printing aboard a U.S. Marine Corps aircraft

The Consortium for Additive Manufacturing Research and Education (CAMRE) at the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) recently conducted a demonstration of in-flight 3D printing aboard a U.S. Marine Corps MV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft. This successful test...

University of Sheffield students build and test a metal 3D printed liquid rocket engine

The engine would be the first to be 3D printed by students in the UK and the most powerful student-built liquid rocket engine A team of Sheffield engineering and science students additively manufactured the ‘SunFire’...

Incus looks back at lithography-based metal manufacturing tests in the lunar environment

The project's goal was to develop a sustainable process that uses lunar resources and recycled scrap metals, eventually contaminated by lunar dust, to produce spare parts on-site which could help and enhance human settlement...

RapidFlight acquires Local Motors’ IP portfolio, underscoring its commitment to harness Additive Manufacturing

Local Motors is one of those companies that was gone too soon. With a catchy product, a 3D printed autonomous shuttle, Local Motors was changing the way mobility could be done on campuses or...