Modern Physics Letters B

Vol. 34, Nos. 7–9 (2020) 2040018 (5 pages)

c World Scientific Publishing Company
DOI: 10.1142/S0217984920400187
by NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE on 03/18/20. Re-use and distribution is strictly not permitted, except for Open Access articles.

3D printing technologies applied to the manufacturing

of aircraft components

Kun-Chen Chung∗,‡ and Ming-Hung Shu∗,†,§

∗ Departmentof Industrial Engineering and Management,
Mod. Phys. Lett. B Downloaded from www.worldscientific.com

National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology,

Kaohsiung City 80778, Taiwan
† Department of Healthcare Administration and Medical Informatics,

Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung City 80778, Taiwan

‡ jackson0323@gmail.com
§ workman@nkust.edu.tw

Yu-Cheng Wang¶,∗∗ , Jui-Chan Huangk,†† and Edwin M. Lau¶,‡‡

¶ Departmentof Aeronautical Engineering, Chaoyang University of Technology,
Taichung City, 168, Jifeng East Rd., Wufeng District, Taichung 41349, Taiwan
k Yango University, Fuzhou 350015, China
∗∗ tony.cobra@msa.hinet.net
†† HJC0718@nkust.edu.tw
‡‡ edwin@cyut.edu.tw

Received 11 August 2018

Accepted 26 December 2019
Published 11 March 2020

This study mainly aimed to make 3D printing technologies serve as the guidelines for the
development of technology-oriented industries. The most important one was tasked to
establish modeling technology applicable to 3D printing in view of technological devel-
opment. For the substrate material of 3D printers, aside from commonly usable plastic,
new carbon fiber composite substrates have been proposed. Substrates were selected
for manufacturing dependent on different object characteristics. The components were
manufactured mainly by focusing on small-sized aircraft components. Additionally, po-
tential problems encountered during 3D printing were explored with feasible suggested
solutions. In the aerospace industry, because of the extreme requirements for the weight
reduction of aircraft components, in the past, this was limited by manufacturing diffi-
culties. If specific shapes were required, it was highly difficult to produce a component
in a single-cast production or cut from a single metal piece. Component manufactur-
ing often had to be divided into several planning blocks, and then welding, assembly,
or rivet connection was conducted. This situation was not only flawed with structural
weaknesses but also extra weight. If metal powder was operable with 3D printing for
integral molding, the above disadvantages could be avoided.

Keywords: 3D Printing; additive manufacturing; composite material; aerospace com-

ponent.

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1. Introduction
This study mainly aimed to establish technology-oriented development guidelines
by NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE on 03/18/20. Re-use and distribution is strictly not permitted, except for Open Access articles.

for industries through 3D printing technologies. For the substrate materials of 3D

printers, aside from commonly used plastic, new carbon fiber composite substrate
materials have been proposed recently. These new substrate materials can be se-
lected dependent on the different properties of objects. The selection of objects was
mainly focused on small-sized aircraft components, and this study mainly empha-
sized aircraft components. Additionally, this study explored the potential problems
encountered during 3D printing with suggested solutions. The following contents
aim to describe the history and background of the development of 3D printing and
aerospace technology, together with the advantages of various components manu-
factured with 3D printing technologies.
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3D printing is also known as layered manufacturing, a kind of rapid prototyping

technology. It is based on digital model files, a type of technology with available
adhesive materials, such as metal power and plastic, structured into objects through
layer-by-layer printing. The operation principle of 3D printers is identical to that
of laser printers. 3D printers use substrate materials but not carbon powder. The
operation principle is meant to establish 3D image files for a 3D object using CAD
or optical scanning.1 Thereafter, 3D image files are converted into 3D drawing data
stereo lithography (STL) files. Liquid photosensitive resin material, powder, or solid
material is used. Through a laser beam irradiation head, an ultraviolet irradiation
head, or a spray head with plastic material along a Z-axis perpendicular to the
horizontal X- and Y -axes, the appearance of 3D objects is established through the
technologies of laminated manufacturing and stacking processes.2,3
Overall, the processing methods of 3D printing can be divided into three cate-
gories: laser fabrication, nozzle fabrication, and hybrid fabrication. Laser fabrication
uses laser or ultraviolet beaming irradiation to make chemical or physical changes
to materials with the appearance of 3D molded objects achievable. The represen-
tative prototyping systems for this processing method include stereo lithography
apparatus (SLA), selective laser sintering (SLS),4 and laminated object manufac-
turing (LOM).5 Nozzle fabrication uses the inkjet or squeeze printing method. Ad-
hesives and materials are ejected by the printer head in a trace volume to make
layer-by-layer stacking processes with the appearance of a 3D object achievable.6
The representative prototyping systems for this processing method include fused
deposition modeling (FDM)7 and three-dimensional Printing (3DP).4 Hybrid fab-
rication makes both laser fabrication and nozzle fabrication with the appearance of
3D molded objects achievable.

2. The Advantages of Using 3D Printing Technologies

for the Manufacturing of Aircraft Components
Different crafting advantages are applicable to mold development and casting appli-
cations. Furthermore, these applications have been increasingly employed by several

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 3D printing technologies applied to the manufacturing of aircraft components

industry sectors.8 A wide range of 3D applications are available for the aerospace,
manufacturing, automobile, medical care, and construction industries. In the avia-
tion industry, 3D printing technologies, especially in metal-forming processes, have
by NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE on 03/18/20. Re-use and distribution is strictly not permitted, except for Open Access articles.

become significant as they are applicable to aerospace. They feature the merits of a
short production cycle, low production cost, and reduced weight. Because the parts
and accessories needed for aviation equipment are small and required for particular
customization, if traditional production processes are implemented, some problems,
such as long production cycles and high costs, will definitely occur. On the other
hand, 3D printing manufacturing processes are speedy. Nearly, shaped members
after molding are only required for slight after-processing, significantly shortening
the production cycle of parts and accessories with a rapid response, satisfying the
demand for aerospace products.9 3D printing processes can ensure high material
Mod. Phys. Lett. B Downloaded from www.worldscientific.com

utilization rates. The forming process is not required for special molds, jigs, and
tools, which can decrease the costs of expensive raw materials for the spare parts
of aviation equipment to reduce manufacturing costs significantly.
Turbine blades are a complex mechanical part in the manufacturing industry,
and they are composed of blade bodies, tenons, and blade crowns. The profiles of
blade bodies form a space with regularly stacked curved planes with blade proto-
types. The quality of the blade bodies directly influences the overall turbine rates.
The gas turbine blades produced by the Siemens Energy Sector use fully AM tech-
nologies that successfully pass tests and provide extreme confidence because they
have made 3D printing technologies in production processes more credible. In a
simulated environment, an engine ran at 13,000 revolutions per minute with op-
erating temperatures exceeding 1250◦ C. The blades tested by Siemens completely
improved the cooling geometry interiors (shown in Fig. 1).10

Fig. 1. 3D printed turbine blade.10

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3. The Challenges of Developing 3D Printing

Although 3D printing technologies are booming, some bottlenecks remain. A break-
by NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE on 03/18/20. Re-use and distribution is strictly not permitted, except for Open Access articles.

through is required through effort from both the industrial and academic sectors.
These bottlenecks include the difficulty of 3D modeling, factors impeding the pen-
etration rates into consumer markets, and relevant research exploring 3D scanning
precision. Second, the technologies have been impeded by limited print materials,
excessively coarse finished products, and low production efficiency causing difficul-
ties for mass production due to higher costs and slower manufacturing rates. Com-
pared with traditional manufacturing technologies, industrial-grade 3D printers in
aerospace manufacturing and bio-medical costs are less sensitive to costs required
for large-scale production and customization. They still have some advantages, and
it is expected that these realms will be major customer sources in the 3D printing
Mod. Phys. Lett. B Downloaded from www.worldscientific.com

market.
For users, the biggest bottleneck in the development of 3D printing is not tech-
nology or machinery but how to convert real objects into 3D model files. Due to the
complexity of learning 3D drawing tool features, for which there is a high thresh-
old, how to break through the difficulties of 3D modeling is the top priority. Two
directions are required for this effort. One is establishing 3D model libraries, and
the other is developing 3D modeling aids, such as 3D scanners.
With 3D printing technologies, whether they were for plastic or metal print-
ing, the quality of finished products was poor. Therefore, finished products were
unacceptable for users and makers have aggressively researched how to improve
precision. The current main feasible directions were integrated with other produc-
tion tools, such as cutting machines, to conduct processing with higher precision.
Currently available technology is the result of the integration of a 3D printing ma-
chine and a cutting machine to form a complex machine for simultaneous printing
and polishing. In particular, in hollow tubes and other internal parts originally
unavailable for polishing, simultaneous printing and polishing is achievable. In the
household plastic printing market, manufacturers have studied feasible solutions
with an appropriate volume of acetone sprayed to solve and make coarse sections
become smooth surfaces after printing is completed.

4. Conclusions
The most criticized shortcoming in 3D printing is its excessive slowness. There
are two possible solutions. The first is realizing that problems cannot be solved
in a short time and the only feasible solution is using 3D printing technologies.
For the past few years, 3D printing technologies have been mostly meant for niche
applications, such as printing prostheses, small parts with several styles but small
quantities, and customization for unique craft products. Alternatively, 3D printing
is used for objects that cannot be produced by traditional methods. The second
solution is seeking new technologies or designs to accelerate printing. The bottom
part in the continuous liquid interface production or CLIP printing system is a

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 3D printing technologies applied to the manufacturing of aircraft components

projector using ultraviolet rays to project the whole cross-sectional image of a

printed object on the photosensitive liquid resin in the upper container. However,
the key point is that the bottom of the resin container was designed with transparent
by NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE on 03/18/20. Re-use and distribution is strictly not permitted, except for Open Access articles.

windows for penetrable light and oxygen. It acts like contact lenses to control the
volume of oxygen input with a layer formed at the container bottom at a thickness of
only several tens of micrometers. The effect of inhibitors can be exerted. When the
ultraviolet curing resin forms, it can prevent some areas from hardening. Therefore,
3D modeling can be performed in a single run. A movable platform above the
container will continue rising and pulling out the finished parts from liquid resin.11

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