The future of flight is something that humans have pondered for as long as we’ve been able to fly. And the recent innovations on display at the Paris Air Show are a great example of some of the interesting ways the aviation industry is going to use 3D printing to disrupt the way we take to the skies in the very near future. Everything from faster airworthiness certification tracks for parts manufacturers, to planes that fly at supersonic speeds, and electric aircraft that has the potential to bring on-demand travel options to consumers, here are some ways we thing 3D printing will impact flights in the future.
We announced our newest offering to help airline manufacturers certify parts with a package to encompass some of their biggest challenges, reliability, scalability and process control. This package directly addresses many of the concerns we heard from our customers around the time it takes to deliver innovative solutions to the market.
When you think of lightning fast commercial flights, one name typically comes to mind, Concorde. And while they were the first to bring supersonic flight to the masses, they don’t necessarily have a reputation for being the most accessible option for many passengers. A situation like this is ripe for innovation, and Boom Supersonic is the company that has met that challenge head on. Boom has developed a highly efficient aircraft design that has advanced the technical capabilities of the passenger airliner, producing speeds 2.6 times faster than anything in the market today. One of the ways this innovation is supported is through 3D printing production grade parts using FDM-based solutions.
Many think of flying in the same way we’ve done for decades, in a large aircraft surrounded by strangers, all passengers heading out from the same departure point, to all land in the same destination. Eviation is a company that hopes to change that perception by offering on-demand flights in their uniquely designed aircraft, which has the ability to take passengers to a range of new destinations. Their use of 3D printing will help them iterate designs faster, in order to bring their vison of regional air travel as a cost effective and clean option for passengers to ever changing requirements of the demanding marketplace.
As aviation and aerospace continue to move toward the future of flight in innovative ways, we are excited to support our partners with 3D printing capabilities that will bring efficient, disruptive and unique solutions to the industry as a whole.
Featured Image: Airplane by Matt Brink I CC BY-SA 2.0
