Thin Walls, Big Impact: REACT's Use of FDM for Aircraft Interior Components

Purpose 

This recurring, government- only webinar series provides a trusted platform for showcasing mission driven use cases, exchanging technical best practices, and strengthening the additive manufacturing ecosystem across federal agencies. 

Why It Matters 

While many government sites have successfully adopted Stratasys hardware software, and materials, cross-agency collaboration remains limited, even within individual departments or locations. 

This Initiative is designed to: 

• Break down silos between teams, programs, and agencies. 

• Highlight real-world applications of Stratasys additive manufacturing technologies in support of diverse missions. 

• Drive innovation and demand through shared success stories, lessons learned, and proven worflows. 

What to Expect 

• Recurring, quarterly 1.5-hour virtual sessions featuring technical deep dives, workflow walkthroughs, and mission-aligned additive manufacturing use cases. 

• Peer-led presentations from engineers, program managers, and additive manufacturing champions across DoW, NASA, DOE, DHS, and other federal entities. 

Who Should Participate 

• Government personnel using or exploring Stratasys additive manufacturing solutions. 

• Technical stakeholders in design, manufacturing, sustainment, and logistics. 

• Program offices seeking to scale additive manufacturing adoption or improve mission readiness.  

The U.S. Air Force's Reverse Engineering and Critical Tooling (REACT) lab leverages Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) for the production of end-use replacement parts for aerospace cabin interiors, offering a modern alternative to traditionally manufactured components such as thermoformed panels, injection molded plastics, and fiberglass elements. This additive approach is particularly advantageous for the low-volume, high-mix needs of aerospace sustainment, enabling the rapid fabrication of lightweight, complex geometries without the long lead times and high costs associated with traditional tooling. The success of these applications relies on overcoming significant FDM challenges, particularly in the production of stable and dimensionally accurate thin-walled parts required for many interior components. By replacing legacy manufacturing methods with FDM, REACT can efficiently produce on-demand replacement parts, enhancing fleet readiness and streamlining the supply chain for non-structural cabin components.

Upcoming dates can be added but add a disclaimer that they are tentative and to check back.