Additive Design and Manufacturing of Jet Engine Parts

The additive design (AD) and additive manufacturing (AM) of jet engine parts will revolutionize the traditional aerospace industry. The unique characteristics of AM, such as gradient materials and micro-structures, have opened up a new direction in jet engine design and manufacturing. Engineers have been liberated from many constraints associated with traditional methodologies and technologies. One of the most significant features of the AM process is that it can ensure the consistency of parts because it starts from point(s), continues to line(s) and layer(s), and ends with the competed part. Collaboration between design and manufacturing is the key to success in fields including aerodynamics, thermodynamics, structural integration, heat transfer, material development, and machining. Engineers must change the way they design a part, as they shift from the traditional method of “subtracting material” to the new method of “adding material” in order to manufacture a part. AD is not the same as designing for AM. A new method and new tools are required to assist with this new way of designing and manufacturing. This paper discusses in detail what is required in AD and AM, and how current problems can be solved.