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1Additive Manufacturing: Technology, Materials and Applications in Aerospace

Additive manufacturing (AM), predominantly known as 3D printing, is transmuting product design, production and service. AM assists us in achieving on-demand production without dedicated apparatus or tooling, unlocks digital design tools, and leads to breakthrough performance and supreme flexibility in industries. Knowledge acts as a barrier to this technique since the selection process for various materials and their applications and requirements differ from each individualized processes. The aerospace industry is the primary user of AM, as it enables it to create complex user-defined part design and fabricate with different materials without wastage of raw materials, reducing the time and cost of production.

This research work promotes the clarity of AM technology by providing in-depth knowledge about its classification and selection process for various applications required by engineering industries, especially in the aerospace industry. Several 3D printing methods and the use of different materials and their applications in the aerospace industry are discussed in detail.

1.1. Introduction

Additive manufacturing technology enables a variety of innovative and economically reliable components when compared to conventional manufacturing methods. The term “rapid prototyping” (RP) is defined as the emphasis of generating a design for a prototype or a base model at a faster rate to promote the end product ...