We’re confident 3D printing will play a major role in aerospace manufacturing in coming years because it already is! Indeed, 3D printers aren’t a Jetsons-esque appliance of the future, but very much a reality for the aerospace industry already. 3D printing isn’t just the future—it’s the present.
In addition to part manufacturing, 3D printing—or additive layer manufacturing (ALM) as it’s known in the biz—is also transforming the concept, design and testing stages. As Lockheed Martin’s chief technology officer, Keoki Jackson, told Aviation Week,
“We are starting to do our designs as full 3-D models from the beginning to the end of the life cycle. We’re going from concept and requirements to architecture, through design in 3-D models with physics-based simulations wrapped around them, to the manufacturing and integration tests and ultimately sustainment in the field, all living within that virtual environment.”