Prototyping and CNC Manufacturing Specialist RapidDirect explains how on-demand manufacturing can help accelerate the growth of the aerospace industry.
The aerospace industry is experiencing explosive growth and rising demand. Therefore, end users demand high quality, precise and high performance aircraft. To meet these demands, manufacturers in the aerospace industry are moving from traditional production methods to on-demand production. By definition, on-demand manufacturing involves the production of parts or products based solely on customer demand. Compared to traditional production methods that produce and store multiple items, on-demand manufacturing allows only a certain number of items to be produced at a time. On-demand manufacturing is widely used in aerospace prototyping and parts manufacturing to meet customer needs for shorter, cheaper and more efficient development cycles.
Although the aerospace industry is over 100 years old, it continues to invest in cutting-edge technology. This search for new technologies is driven by the need to meet the safety and high performance standards demanded by customers. On-demand manufacturing provides technological flexibility, helping to accelerate the development of the aerospace industry. The use of advanced technologies such as CNC machining and additive manufacturing in on-demand manufacturing to meet these challenges is accelerating development cycles in the aerospace industry. Similarly, more sophisticated aerospace components or innovative product developments can be realized with advanced technology.
You are probably familiar with the adage “time is money”. Time is of the essence, especially in aerospace product development. In traditional manufacturing processes, product developers often face minimum order quantity (MOQ) and production schedule restrictions. In contrast, on-demand production is more flexible and does not have a minimum order quantity. Therefore, shorter product development times can be expected. What’s more, on-demand manufacturing allows companies to communicate more openly and directly with suppliers and customers. This speeds up communication and interaction during aerospace development. This enables the efficient collection of raw materials and reduces wastage of resources and time. Similarly, production-on-demand allows for rapid exchange of feedback between manufacturers and customers without major disruption to the development process.
On-demand manufacturing drives development and innovation in the aerospace industry. This allows aerospace designs to keep up with the demands of customization and high performance. For example, prototyping can be complex and expensive. On-demand manufacturers use innovation to quickly test prototypes before going into production. Likewise, they can produce trial batches of a product and bring it to market for testing while continuing to improve the product. This ensures continuous release of products and early feedback after development.
Innovative programs such as 3D printing and computerized manufacturing can simultaneously model a product and simultaneously test it for compatibility with other aerospace components. In this way, on-demand manufacturing directly accelerates the development of the aerospace industry by enhancing the creativity, innovation and high performance of current and future models.
On-demand manufacturing uses a variety of innovative technologies to quickly produce aerospace products and parts.
CNC machining is a computerized manufacturing process in which information is provided to software to start manufacturing a product. CNC machining is a form of subtractive manufacturing process, which means removing a portion of a manufactured part. This approach makes it easy to precisely modify the aerospace products produced or customize them to meet customer needs.
The two main benefits you get from CNC machining are: High accuracy/tolerance up to ±0.0025mm. This applies to the aerospace industry, where parts need to be connected or matched precisely; this contributes to the fast and stable production of parts and products for the aerospace industry.
When it comes to precision, you shouldn’t miss out on 5-axis CNC machining. This method allows complex shapes and structures to be brought to life with fewer adjustments than traditional methods. 5-axis CNC machining also includes 3+2-axis machining, the only synchronous manufacturing technology. In addition to precision, you also get a smoother surface for a better fit on aerospace parts.
3D printing is another production-on-demand technology widely used in the aerospace industry; it is a form of additive manufacturing that accurately creates layer by layer of an aerospace part. 3D printing speeds up product development cycles by reducing the time spent prototyping in trials and real products. The goal of the aerospace industry is to move towards lighter, more precise and safer aerospace components. 3D printing allows complex structural aerospace parts to be produced with these qualities.
Stereolithography (SLA) is a 3D printing technique that speeds up the process of designing aerospace parts with accurate prototypes. With SLA, you can add detail and smoother surfaces to product details.
Material jetting (MJ) is a part of the 3D printing process where liquid material is added layer by layer to create aerospace parts. MJ precisely determines the height and dimensions of the materials used in the production process.
3D printing supports the rapid production of models and prototypes at a low cost. These prototypes were later used to build aerospace components. Accelerated processes at this stage include thermoforming, injection molding, fixtures and fittings. 3D printing also allows aerospace manufacturers to experiment with lightweight, high-performance models using complex geometric combinations. Traditional manufacturers produce multiple aircraft components for the same purpose. However, with the help of 3D printing, multiple parts can be combined into a more efficient assembly. This reduces the time and costs associated with assembling and stockpiling.
Looking back at this discussion, on-demand manufacturing should improve the aerospace industry. His current contribution to the development of the aerospace industry includes the reduction of production cycles and the introduction of innovations. On-demand manufacturing uses 5-axis CNC machining and 3D printing to ensure the production of precise and high-performance parts for the aerospace industry.
At RapidDirect, we offer complete manufacturing solutions for the aerospace industry. With cutting-edge technology and persistent quality requirements, bring your ideas to life.
Post time: Feb-17-2023