3D Printing Will Make Airplanes Lighter

Airplanes Are Getting Lighter Thanks to 3-D-Printed Parts

A rapid increase in sales of 3-D printers that make metal parts may just be the beginning of a surge in additive manufacturing in the aerospace industry.

Mike Orcutt | April 18, 2016

Metal 3-D printing, which has been around for decades, is finally coming into its own as a genuine mass manufacturing technology: sales of machines that print metal objects have risen rapidly as manufacturers, especially in the aerospace industry, gear up for commercial production of additively made parts they’ve been developing for years (see “10 Breakthrough Technologies 2013: Additive Manufacturing”).

Jet engine makers get lift from 3-D printing technology. Source: http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/11/travel/leap-engine-3-d-printing/

<more at https://www.technologyreview.com/s/601268/airplanes-are-getting-lighter-thanks-to-3-d-printed-parts/; related articles and links: http://www.geglobalresearch.com/innovation/3d-printing-creates-new-parts-aircraft-engines (3D Printing Creates New Parts for Aircraft Engines) and https://www.technologyreview.com/s/513716/additive-manufacturing/ (Additive Manufacturing. GE, the world’s largest manufacturer, is on the verge of using 3-D printing to make jet parts. December 9, 2015)>