Charlottesville, Virginia – SmarTech Publishing has released a new white paper titled, "Additive Manufacturing in Aerospace: Strategic Implications." The paper was drawn from a previously issued research study titled, “Additive Manufacturing Opportunities in the Aerospace Industry: A Ten-Year Forecast.” In the report SmarTech found that sales to the aerospace industry of additive manufacturing (AM) equipment and associated software, services, and materials will reach $805 million in 2019, going on to reach $1.2 billion by 2023.
According to SmarTech, aerospace is the second largest industry sector served by AM currently (after dental/medical). AM prototyping solutions have been part of aircraft manufacturing since the 1980s. In future, AM will enable aerospace firms to reduce labor costs, minimize manual assembly, and reduce the weight of aircraft.
In the white paper, SmarTech examines four supposedly critical aspects of AM in the aerospace industry, which are (1) reduction of lead times, (2) reduction of component weight, (3) reduction of both production and operational costs, and (4) reduction of the negative environmental impacts of production. Research has revealed that some of these factors will be a source of great value for aerospace manufacturers over the next 10 years, while others contain more fluff than substance.
This new report covers AM opportunities in the commercial aviation, military aerospace, and space sectors. It analyzes how AM creates value in these sectors through prototyping, reduction of complex sub-assemblies, weight reduction, supply chain improvements, and use of improved materials.
The report also includes a detailed 10-year forecast covering SLS, SL/SLA, DMLS, DED and FDM machines, along with related software and materials (titanium, nickel, thermoplastics, and epoxy acrylates). In its forecasts, SmarTech adopted a two-pronged methodology. It built projections from the bottom up, starting with current equipment sales. SmarTech then also constructed a top-down forecast, based on funding available for AM in aerospace. SmarTech believes that the convergence of these two separate forecasts will provide additional confidence in its projections for aerospace AM.
The report both provides a strategic analysis of leading players in aerospace-related AM and includes real world examples of where AM is already making large contributions to the aerospace industry’s bottom line.
Companies discussed in this report include 3D Systems, Airbus, Arcam, BAE Systems, Boeing, Concept Laser, DSM, EOS, GE Aviation, CRP, Direct Manufacturing, EnvisionTEC, Ex-One, Honeywell, Kelly Manufacturing, Lithoz, Lockheed Martin, Northrup Grumman, Optomec, Oxford Performance Materials, Rolls-Royce, RTI International Metals, Sciaki, SLM Solutions, Stratasys, Trumpf, and Within Technologies.
Source: SmarTech Markets Publishing