The aviation industry is working intensively to reduce the environmental impact of flying, and additive manufacturing (AM) is a key enabler in this effort. However, for the technology to meet the industry's extremely high safety and quality standards, a thorough understanding of the process is required. New research by Karthikeyan Thalavai Pandian, University West, Sweden, contributes important pieces to this puzzle.
Today's aircraft already contain engine components produced with additive manufacturing, but for less critical applications. Given the numerous advantages of the technology, the aircraft engine manufacturer GKN Aerospace aims to produce even more components in more materials using AM for critical applications. Achieving this goal requires extensive research and testing.