Several additive manufacturing technology suppliers and users have joined an Airbus-led programme that will seek to scale metal additive manufacturing for next-generation aircraft.
The four-year, 38 million GBP, Digitally Enabled Competitive & Sustainable Additive Manufacturing (DECSAM) programme will seek to develop and deploy the latest additive manufacturing technologies, such as beam shaping and in-situ process monitoring, to make laser powder bed fusion technology more cost-effective, productive and sustainable.
Renishaw plc, ASTM International UK, Authentise Ltd, The Manufacturing Technology Centre Limited, GKN Aerospace Services Limited, Additive Manufacturing Solutions Ltd, APEX Additive Technologies Ltd, Domin Limited, University of Sheffield, and ToffeeX Limited are participating alongside Airbus Operations Limited.
They are six months into the programme, which will run until June 2028, having been funded through Innovate UK, the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI), and the UK Department for Business and Trade.
As the partners aim to reduce waste and the carbon intensity across the AM value chain, they are prioritising resource efficiency, material reuse and circular design principles. By the conclusion of the programme, they hope to be able to demonstrate an integrated, digitally connected AM supply chain from alloy selection and build strategies to post-processing, inspection and factory scale-up.
Through this effort, DECSAM also intends to deliver new and improved alloys, multi-physics modelling and physics-driven design capabilities, while bolstering productivity through the use of high-power lasers, beam shaping, advanced scan strategies, in-situ monitoring and closed-loop control. An end-to-end digital thread will also be deployed, and through the development of a series of applications, the partners hope to demonstrate the overall cost benefit of AM.
Planned outputs include ground and flight-test demonstrators, validated recycled/repurposed powder routes, widened powder specifications, verified parameter themes for quality and throughput, in-process monitoring software offerings, and guidance for routes to qualification and certification, all targeted at accelerating industrial exploitation.
“Additive manufacturing can unlock new efficiencies in aerospace, lowering costs, optimising material use, reducing weight and consolidating complex assemblies into single parts,” said Jacqueline Castle, Chief Technology Officer at the Aerospace Technology Institute. “DECSAM units a strong consortium to accelerate adoption in civil aerospace, aligning closely with the ATI’s additive manufacturing strategy to drive further economic growth and sustainability.”
“The UK government’s investment in green aerospace innovation is a strong signal that sustainable manufacturing is both a national priority and a global opportunity,” said Andrew G. Kireta Jr., President of ASTM International. “DECSAM exemplifies the kind of industry-led collaboration needed to unlock additive manufacturing’s potential at scale – and ASTM is proud to contribute to its success.”
“As the National Centre for Additive Manufacturing, we’re excited to help improve the cost-competitiveness of the technology so that it can be scaled and adopted more widely across the UK’s aerospace industry. This large programme is an opportunity to make a major step forward towards this and we’re proud to be playing a central role in its delivery and working with excellent partners,” offered Dr. David Brackett, Chief Engineer, Digital Engineering, MTC.
