Accelerate and de-risk your additive manufacturing application development
2K+
Structural Ti or Al-alloy components for space flight since 2015
200+
Critical Passive RF flight parts since 2017
15+
Satellites with 3D Systems produced flight hardware on board

Reduce Weight, Improve Functionality, and Consolidate Parts

Aerospace Overview Image with Fighter Jet

With our decades of experience in additive manufacturing for the aerospace industry, we use our consultative approach to help you create airworthy parts with reduced weight and improved performance. We are uniquely qualified to help you rapidly design and produce consolidated components for aerospace and defense applications, accelerate the certification process, and optimize your entire supply chain.

Additive Manufacturing Applications for Aerospace and Defense

  • Communication Satellite Orbiting the Earth

  • Passive Radio Frequency (RF) Hardware

    Passive RF hardware is a family of parts that conduct an electromagnetic signal. They can guide, filter, modulate or amplify a signal in different stages of a typical communication chain from earth to a satellite and back. Learn more about the drivers to select our technology to design and manufacture these components.

    Passive RF Hardware Applications

  • Lightweight Brackets

    Use our advanced direct metal printing to produce lightweight aerospace parts at reduced operational costs that enable greater fuel efficiency. Using topological optimization, you can design highly complex features that maintain or even improve material strength.

    Lightweight Bracket Applications
  • Cutaway of a DLR 3D Printed DMP Fuel Injector

  • Propulsion

    Create fewer, optimized parts while lowering the costs of manufacturing. Using our additive manufacturing and consulting for aerospace and defense enables a single 3D printed component to replace multiple subcomponents. This means consolidating these subcomponents into a monolithic design, which contributes to weight reduction, fewer bolted and welded joints, and improved overall system performance.

    Propulsion Applications
  • Connector close up

  • Heat Exchangers

    Maximize heat transfer and minimize temperature fluctuations by integrating heat-exchanging structures into a single, 3D printed design. Unlike traditional methods, our leading additive manufacturing allows for the production of efficient, high-performance thermal management parts through a streamlined process that reduces time to market.

    Heat Exchanger Applications
  • Investment Casting Applications for Aerospace

  • Investment Casting Patterns

    Skip the expense of injection molding tooling for casting patterns. Our advanced software, hardware, and materials enable you to use investment casting workflows to cast 3D printed molds in a fraction of the time and cost. Aerospace parts manufacturers can move directly from CAD to casting pattern with fewer design limitations and quickly create hollow patterns capable of far greater design complexity.

    Investment Casting Applications

NoSupports enables metal powder-bed printing without support structures.

Powered by 3DXpert software, NoSupports expands the design envelope, accelerates design cycles, and unlocks new applications. 

A cross section of a 3D printed part being printed with NoSupports
Customer Stories
Duo Form 3D printed thermoform mold
Duo Form
Significantly reduces costs and times thanks to 3D printing by large format pellet extrusion by 3d systems
Duo Form, a leading thermoforming provider for wide-ranging industries, is enhancing its production abilities with polymer pellet-extrusion additive manufacturing (AM). In partnership with 3D Systems, Duo Form integrated AM into their manufacturing processes, utilizing their Titan 3D printer to produce representative samples, production molds, and tools for thermoforming and vacuum forming. The results are reduced costs, faster lead times, and increased flexibility....
Read more
Molyworks case study
MolyWorks Improves Air-Worthy Aerospace Part Production Capabilities
Increasing in-house production with the DMP Flex 350 expands Molyworks titanium operation and opens the door to new engagements....
Read more
Electrical THruster Mechanism component 3D printed in titanium
Design and Additive Manufacturing Expertise from 3D Systems to Serve Thales Alenia Space Satellite Sub-System
3D Systems collaborates with Thales Alenia Space in the field of design for additive manufacturing (DfAM) to improve performance of a critical sub...
Read more

3D Systems Helps Aerospace and Defense Manufacturers Maximize Efficiencies

  • Dedicated Industry Expertise

    3D Systems has in-house aerospace industry experts across all major aspects of aerospace parts manufacturing, from engineering and design to certification and production. Our experts work with you to optimize your efforts in manufacturing aerospace components for commercial, business, military, aviation, and space applications.

  • Guided Implementation and Support

    Based on more than a decade of leading-edge manufacturing within highly regulated environments such as healthcare, aerospace, and high tech, we provide you with unique insights, assist in the certification process, and enable a streamlined pathway to full-scale manufacturing using our innovative technology. 

  • A Strong ROI

    Our two AS/EN9100 production facilities allow for parallel paths to application development and on-site customer process development. This streamlines the implementation of additive manufacturing and results in an ROI of up to 60%.

  • Additive Manufacturing You Can Trust

    We help maximize your manufacturing process to reduce costs while achieving greater consistency and reliability in your final aerospace components. We work with you to scale your additive manufacturing capabilities at your own pace, and help you ensure traceability and transparency for regulatory and quality control requirements.

  • A Focus on Research and Design

    As demands in the aerospace and defense industries evolve, our additive manufacturing ensures that you can continuously innovate your production and products. Using our in-house expertise, we remain at the forefront of change, developing advanced technology and materials for aerospace applications.

3D Systems is BSI Certified

3D Systems is proud to operate a quality management system which complies with the requirements of AS9100D and ISO 9001:2015.

View certification (HOLD)
3D Systems is BSI Certified

  • Application Innovation Group

    Our team can help you solve your most difficult design and production challenges with additive manufacturing solutions. Together we’ll identify your needs, working with you to optimize your designs, prototype, validate and define a manufacturing flow.
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