Additive manufacturing (AM) is currently being used to produce many certified
aerospace components. However, significant advantages of AM are not exploited
due to unresolved issues associated with process control, feedstock materials,
surface finish, inspection, and cost. Components subject to fatigue must undergo
surface finish improvements to enable inspection. This adds cost and limits the
use of topology optimization. Continued development of process models is also
required to enable optimization and understand the potential for defects in
thin-walled and slender sections. Costs are high for powder-fed processes due to
material costs, machine costs, and low deposition rates. Costs for wire-fed
processes are high due to the extensive postprocess machining required. In
addition, these processes are limited to low-complexity features. Incremental
improvements in all of these areas are being made, but a step change could
potentially be achieved by hybrid processes, which use wire feedstock to deposit
the bulk of the part and powder for fine detail.
NOTE: SAE EDGE™ Research Reports are intended to identify and illuminate key
issues in emerging, but still unsettled, technologies of interest to the
mobility industry. The goal of SAE EDGE™ Research Reports is to stimulate
discussion and work in the hope of promoting and speeding resolution of
identified issues. SAE EDGE™ Research Reports are not intended to resolve the
issues they identify or close any topic to further scrutiny.