3D Printing Services for Aerospace & Defense

Jigs, Fixtures, and Part Transport in Aerospace Manufacturing

In the aerospace industry, where precision and efficiency are paramount, jigs, fixtures, and part transport systems play a vital role in streamlining production processes. These essential components are designed to hold, support, and guide workpieces or parts during various aerospace manufacturing operations, ensuring accuracy, reducing errors, and improving overall throughput. Let's explore the roles of jigs, fixtures, and part transport in the aerospace manufacturing landscape.

3D Printing Solutions for Surrogate Parts in Aerospace Maintenance

Our 3D printing solutions enable the production of customized surrogate parts that accurately replicate the geometry, dimensions, and material properties of the original aerospace components. We offer a wide range of materials, including high-performance thermoplastics, metals, and composites, ensuring that our surrogate parts closely mimic the characteristics of the actual components. Our state-of-the-art technology allows for rapid prototyping and production, resulting in shorter lead times and increased efficiency.

Accelerte Innovation with Rapid, High-Quality Prototype Development for Aerospace Parts

Our state-of-the-art 3D printing technology offers a comprehensive solution for creating high-quality prototypes and models, allowing aerospace companies to rapidly iterate designs, validate concepts, and reduce time-to-market. By partnering with us, you can expect unparalleled support and expertise in developing aerospace prototypes and models that meet the highest industry standards.

End-of-Life Replacement Parts and Precious Part Replication in Aerospace

We recognize the challenges faced by aerospace manufacturers in maintaining legacy systems and preserving valuable, hard-to-replace components. Our innovative 3D printing technology provides a comprehensive solution for producing end-of-life replacement parts and replicating precious aerospace components, ensuring the continued performance and reliability of your aircraft systems.

In the top part our customer provided the final composite part (in white) and they did not have a CAD file.  We reverse engineered the CAD for the final part, designed the composite layup mold using that CAD file, then printed and finished the composite layup mold which was fully ready for layup. One stop shop for design through manufacturing and completely ready for customer layup.  

The bottom picture represents a soluble composite layup mold.  The customer required a hollow carbon fiber piece with the geometry shown above.  Rather than manufacturing a multi piece mold, we printed in 1 piece with our soluble composites molding material, which can withstand lower autoclave temperatures.  This saved the customer significant money, lead time, and man hours.  The customer “laid” their carbon fiber on top and sent us back the pieces.  We dissolved the soluble tool in our wash tank and sent the customer back the final parts ready for their application.

The above cable guide is a thin part with tricky and complex geometry.  The customer was having issues with their previous supplier providing parts OOT and that supplier was not willing to troubleshoot the issue.  American Additive got involved and through additive manufacturing and engineering expertise, we were able to provide a repeatable part within tolerance and become this companies sole supplier for all additive parts.