Additive manufacturing unlocks a number of advantages for aerospace engineers, enabling small batch customization of complex, lighter weight parts in very short timeframes. By reducing the weight of an aircraft by 1kg, the emissions of CO2 can be reduced by up to 1 tonne. Over the life of an aircraft coupled with rising fuel costs, these additive manufacturing innovations can have significant impact on both the environment and the fuel efficiency of an aircraft. As the aerospace industry searches for new avenues to increase efficiency, 3D printing has proven itself to be a key solution, allowing aircraft to fly greater distances whilst reducing emissions. Forge Labs offers highly repeatable technologies capable of manufacturing in fire rated UL94 aerospace-grade materials such as ULTEM 9085, Antero 800NA, Nylon12 FR, Titanium Ti64 and Aluminum AlSi10Mg.  Together,  these certified 3D printed materials allow for lightweight aircraft interior parts to be printed for a fraction of the traditional manufacturing costs.

Additive manufacturing allows for aerospace and aviation parts to be tailored specifically to the aircraft.  Designers are now free to introduce more customization within the cockpit and cabin allowing them to easily produce strong & lightweight parts in metal, plastic and resin that are more ergonomic and faster to manufacture. Traditional manufacturing methods were greatly limited by the geometries they were able to produce as well as the high startup and change over costs associated with tooling. This often resulting in significant compromises that resulted in less ergonomic, or bulkier aerospace parts simply due to manufacturing limitations. In the past decade, advancements in Direct Metal Laser Sintering and flight worthy plastics such as ULTEM 9085 have unlocked new customizable options for aircrafts as it does not require tooling changes nor is there costs associated with complexity. This means designers are now free to build more ergonomic cabin parts, or replace broken parts with more complex 3D printed components much more efficiently.

Effortlessly 3D Print highly accurate, part-specific tools, jigs, fixtures and other manufacturing aids for use on the shop floor to accelerate the assembly process. The speed and accuracy of industrial 3D Printing technologies such as Stereolithography (SLA) and Fused Deposition (FDM) enable the rapid creation of part-specific tools, jigs, fixtures and other manufacturing aids for use on the shop floor. Jigs, fixtures and sacrificial composite tooling can be manufactured quicker than ever using industrial grade additive manufacturing technologies such as Fused Deposition and Laser Sintering.  These industrial 3D printing technologies are capable of producing durable, stable, consistent and long lasting tools in variety of thermoplastic materials in as quick as 1 day. Whether you require toughness, electrostatic dissipation, or translucence, 3D printing has a material suitable for your application.

Rapid prototyping with 3D printing allows the rapid testing of both fit form and function as quick as 1 business day.  Unlock complete design freedom, with no cost of complexity and explore new concepts without worrying about tool or mold changes. Forge Labs' large format Stereolithography (SLA) 3D printers offer exceptionally high tolerances and spacious build platforms large enough to produce parts up to 59 inches in a single print without the need for sectioning or assembly. If you also need to test function, we recommend high performance 3D printing materials via Selective Laser Sintering (SLS), Multi-Jet Fusion (MJF) and Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) which enables aerospace designers to create highly functional prototypes that look and perform like final products.