Originally Posted by
pba_target
The key with 3d printing for manufacturing aircraft components (particularly titanium) is the low level of material wastage involved compared to conventional production. There was an article on the 787 recently in a major news outlet and Boeing's stated prime aim was to reduce the percentage of loss, which is currently mind-bending, given the huge cost of the raw material!
A looong while ago I was tasked with writing the draft structural servicing schedule for the Tornado. Apart from many meetings at Warton and MoD MB, I was despatched to Turin to see how the wing planks were produced at the Aeritalia factory. Large billets of aluminium were fed into CNC machines where >85% was machined away to form the top and bottom wing planks. Huge hoppers were situated underneath the CNC stations to take the swarf away for recycling.