3D printing technologies applied to the manufacturing of aircraft components

Abstract

This study mainly aimed to make 3D printing technologies serve as the guidelines for the development of technology-oriented industries. The most important one was tasked to establish modeling technology applicable to 3D printing in view of technological development. For the substrate material of 3D printers, aside from commonly usable plastic, new carbon fiber composite substrates have been proposed. Substrates were selected for manufacturing dependent on different object characteristics. The components were manufactured mainly by focusing on small-sized aircraft components. Additionally, potential problems encountered during 3D printing were explored with feasible suggested solutions. In the aerospace industry, because of the extreme requirements for the weight reduction of aircraft components, in the past, this was limited by manufacturing difficulties. If specific shapes were required, it was highly difficult to produce a component in a single-cast production or cut from a single metal piece. Component manufacturing often had to be divided into several planning blocks, and then welding, assembly, or rivet connection was conducted. This situation was not only flawed with structural weaknesses but also extra weight. If metal powder was operable with 3D printing for integral molding, the above disadvantages could be avoided.