Aerospace 3D Printing
Lockheed Martin 3D Prints Large Titanium Domes for Satellite Fuel Tanks
Global security and aerospace company Lockheed Martin has made many significant contributions to its industry through the use of 3D printing, from propulsion tanks and spacecraft parts to missile components and fuel tanks. The company, which received three Edison...
Oerlikon and Lufthansa Technik to Create Repeatable 3D Printing Processes and Standards in Aircraft MRO Industry
While standards and regulations in any type of industry are necessary, it’s of the utmost importance to properly set them up in the aerospace field, especially when it comes to 3D printed parts and components – people’s lives are actually at stake....
United Technologies’ Restructuring Impact on the 3D Printer Industry
United Technologies is a company that needs no introduction. They are a leading innovator and developer of commercial products in a myriad of industries including aircraft engines, aerospace systems, HVAC, elevators, and escalators. Since 2015, the firm has been both...
3D Printing Replacement Parts for a Nuclear Warhead
The W80 nuclear warhead is a small American thermonuclear warhead designed for deployment on cruise missiles. A program has been implemented to extend the life of the warhead, called the W80-4 LEP, or life extension program. Recently the National Nuclear Security...
Sogeclair Believes 3D Printed Casting Patterns are the Key to the Airplane Door of the Future
Flying can be a sublime experience, especially when the plane’s design has been carefully considered and executed. Despite our human instinct to believe that supremely heavy objects such as planes or ships should neither fly nor float, their engineering allows...
RMIT University Researching LMD 3D Printing for Making New and Replacement Defense Aircraft Parts
3D printing is finding significant adoption in the aerospace industry, considering its need for complex parts and lightweight components with consistent quality and repeatable characteristics. The technology also makes the supply chain more efficient, as it reduces...
Lockheed Martin’s Contributions to 3D Printing
The aerospace industry was one of the first major advocates of 3D printing, as the industry has been a driving force in the evolution of this technology. The industry covers a wide range of commercial, industrial and military applications that demand state-of-the art...
The Foam Printing Project Part Two: 3D Printing to Lightweight All the Things
MIT research specialist Matthew Pearlson is the founder of The Foam Printing Project, an innovative advance building on his idea to use additive manufacturing and lightweight foam for the creation of lighter-weight structures so the world could use less fuel. In part...
SAE International Releases New Standards for Aerospace 3D Printing
Additive manufacturing might not be brand new anymore, but it’s still new enough that for many industries, standards are still in development. Standards are an important part of any industry, but they’re particularly crucial for industries like aerospace...
Students 3D Print a Tool for Exploring Beneath Ice in Outer Space
NASA not only uses 3D printing frequently itself, it encourages others to do so, particularly students, with programs such as the CubeSat Launch Initiative, for example. In return for its support of the technological experiments of students, NASA often is rewarded...
International Consortium Delivers New Microgravity 3D Printer Prototype to European Space Agency
The majority of our planet is on a race to the outer regions of space, and it’s a well-known fact now that 3D printing can help us remain there for longer periods of time. Over two years ago, the European Space Agency (ESA), looking to further develop its...
Honeywell Engineers Take on Industrial 3D Printing to Create Strong, Lightweight Parts in Metal
I took an overnight flight recently from Colorado to the East Coast. In the wee hours, the lights were dimmed and most of the passengers slept; however, in all my growing excitement to see family and friends, I was wide awake and found myself looking around the quiet...
Boeing Protects Its 3D Printed Intellectual Property with Assembrix Software
Boeing is heavily involved in 3D printing, using multiple vendors to 3D print parts for aircraft such as the Dreamliner. But with such collaboration comes risk. While the vendors themselves may be perfectly trustworthy, electronic communication and transfer of parts...
NASA Successfully Tests 3D Printed Copper Combustion Chamber
NASA is constantly bringing additive manufacturing into use on projects, whether it’s 3D printing rocket engine parts or launching 3D printed CubeSats into space. For several years, NASA has been working on a project involving building a completely 3D printed...
NASA Awards Made In Space New Contract for Vulcan Hybrid 3D Printer, Successfully Launches First Deep Space-Bound CubeSats
Made In Space has built a long and respectable track record of, well, making things in space. The company was responsible for the first 3D printer ever to be launched into space, as well as the follow-up, which continues to 3D print on the International Space Station...
$9 Million Awarded to Four-Year GE Global Research Program for 3D Printing New and Replacement Naval Parts
Increasingly, no matter if the need is automotive or defense, service centers and repair shops are adopting the capability to 3D print replacement parts on-demand. This is especially helpful in replacing legacy manufacturing processes to fabricate parts that are too...
Ohio-Based 3D Printing Companies Fabrisonic and MakerGear at RAPID + TCT
At last week’s RAPID + TCT in Fort Worth, Texas, 3DPrint.com was on the show floor checking out the latest innovations and new 3D printer releases, as well as attending press conferences and multiple fascinating keynotes. While there, I had the chance to visit...
Formalloy Introduces New X-series LMD Metal 3D Printer at RAPID + TCT
At this past week’s RAPID + TCT conference in Texas, California-based Formalloy highlighted its metal 3D printing technology. Formalloy has only been around since the beginning of 2016, but in those 2.5 short years, the award-winning metal 3D printing company...
3D Systems’ Figure 4 3D Printing Technology Selected for Air Force Research
This week at the RAPID + TCT show, 3D Systems showcased its advanced Figure 4 technology and made a big announcement: Figure 4 has been selected for Air Force-sponsored research focused on integrating high-speed 3D printing into the aircraft maintenance supply chain....
SME, Arconic, Lockheed Martin Skunk Works Discuss Investment in 3D Printing During RAPID + TCT Keynote
While the RAPID + TCT conference in Fort Worth, Texas ends later today, my time at this amazing event came to a close rather, well rapidly (please forgive me this lame joke). I left the show midday on Wednesday, my head spinning with all of the amazing things...
3D Printing News Briefs: April 20, 2018
We’re getting right down to business today in 3D Printing News Briefs – Identify3D and atum3D are both announcing new collaborations and partnerships, and Made In Space has received an award from NASA. WASP created a new hub network, while the Library of...
Aerospace 3D Printing Pioneers Join Forces as Premium AEROTEC Acquires APWORKS
APWORKS is an expert in metal 3D printing, and has been involved with initiatives and partnerships all over the industry. Until now, APWORKS has been a subsidiary of Airbus, itself a frequent user of 3D printing, but today the company announced that it has been...
Siemens Advancing Additive Manufacturing: Exclusive Interview, Part Two – Providing Services
Germany-based Siemens has been working with 3D printing in its global operations for some time now, integrating the technology across a variety of its businesses and developing significant familiarity with the disruptive manufacturing process. I recently appreciated...
SME Announces Keynote Speakers for RAPID + TCT: 3D Printing in Sports, Aerospace, Medicine, The Future
Nonprofit organization SME, which supports the manufacturing industry, has spent months getting ready for the 2018 RAPID + TCT Conference, which begins this Monday, April 23, in Fort Worth, Texas. We’ve already seen several announcements about exciting new 3D...
Stratasys, PADT, Lockheed Martin 3D Printing 100+ Final Parts for NASA Orion Spacecraft
The future of human exploration in outer space depends on our ability to successfully manufacture necessary items in zero gravity conditions, which is why scientists and engineers have been calling on the power of 3D printing to help us travel the stars more safely...
