#Product Trends
Additive Manufacturing for Aircraft Interiors
A Streamlined Qualification Process
Additive manufacturing (AM) processes and materials pose real benefits for the aerospace industry through manufacturing, performance and supply chain improvements. However, qualification of AM aircraft parts is currently a challenging, if not ambiguous endeavor for aerospace companies. The primary reason is the lack
of an established qualification plan framework to build upon and qualified materials. Companies may be experienced with AM but aren’t aware of the critical aspects of this technology as it relates to aircraft qualification. The result is a lack of guidance and information needed to satisfy the requirements to qualify parts to be on an aircraft. Then there are those familiar with the qualification process but still see it through a traditional manufacturing lens, and lack the experience needed to translate the critical elements to the AM world.
Also lacking is a database of AM material properties that engineers can use to design and develop aircraft parts using the AM process. The absence of material property data means aircraft companies are left to develop this information on their own, a process that can be extremely expensive and time consuming. Consequently, companies that assume this challenge and develop their own data typically view it as proprietary information, which isn’t shared with the broader aerospace community. This creates an environment where all industry participants are forced to create their own data and processes, resulting in a lack of a baseline set of accepted properties that can be leveraged by everyone.
The Solution
In response to this challenge, Stratasys worked together with the aerospace manufacturers and certification bodies to foster a collective understanding of what’s needed to create a qualification path for additively manufactured parts supported by all parties. To that end, Stratasys developed the Aircraft Interior Solution (AIS). The AIS provides all the necessary tools, documentation and training needed to guide aerospace producers down the aircraft qualification path.
In addition, the material database, developed in collaboration with NCAMP (National Center for Advanced Materials Performance) process with FAA oversight, will reside in the public domain, accessible to any aerospace company. The AIS includes a sample equivalency test template that can be used by the applicant to understand the types of tests, specimen count, and quality expectations an NCAMP equivalency program entails. This enables the applicant to be well positioned when approaching NCAMP to develop an appropriately tailored test plan for the applicant.