Belgium-based
Materialise, an additive manufacturing (AM) pioneer, has gained EN 9100 certification for its metal AM processes for aerospace. A sector-specific variant of ISO 9001, EN 9100 certifies that an organisation has implemented a quality management system that ensures product quality, process control, regulatory compliance, and continuous improvement.
The company, which is represented in the UK by Southampton-based
Materialise UK, is already 9100 certified for its polymer AM processes dedicated to the sector, producing upwards of 500,000 flying parts to date for aircraft OEMs, suppliers, and MROs. The development, therefore, represents a major step forward in the adoption of metal 3-D printed parts for the aviation and space sectors.
With EN 9100 for metal now in place, Materialise’s manufacturing capabilities open up a whole host of new opportunities for part design and supply chain efficiencies for all stakeholders in the aerospace ecosystem. The company is no stranger to meeting stringent standards and is one of only a few providers of AM processes certified to Airbus AIPI standards — recently achieving the highest possible grade on the Airbus Quality Maturity assessment. The AM for aviation specialist also holds a Production Organisation Approval (POA) from EASA, enabling it to manufacture flight-ready parts to Form 1 accreditation.
With EN 9100 certification for metal now complementing its existing credentials, Materialise is ready to help the entire aerospace value chain identify and source flight-ready metal or polymer 3-D printed components — with low-criticality parts a particularly strong opportunity for the sector.
Cost-efficient productionErik de Zeeuw, Materialise’s market manager for aerospace, said: “Low-criticality parts that need to be light, strong, and durable, such as seat bezels, housings, interior trims, or ducts, are particularly strong candidates. They often need to be repaired or replaced, but in small quantities. These are requirements that align perfectly with key benefits of metal 3-D printing, including the ability to have digital ‘on-demand’ stock for faster, more reliable sourcing, and cost-efficient production of small series parts.”
In an industry where production volumes are often low, 3-D printing’s tooling-free technology makes small-series manufacturing considerably more affordable than conventional methods, where cost per part is much more dependent on volume. With no ‘minimum feasible production run’ for metal 3-D printed parts, there are also no costs associated with wasted stock or warehousing of excess spare parts.
Erik de Zeeuw said: “Paying only for parts used, and with a lower TCO (total cost of ownership), is clearly beneficial. As is avoiding any potential supply chain disruptions that could delay part availability, which in turn can end up grounding flights for long periods of time. What’s more, it becomes less cost-prohibitive to review and adapt parts for continuous improvement.”
The scale of its manufacturing facilities, its status as a POA, and now the quality assurance delivered by its EN 9100-certified processes means that in addition to 3-D printing flight-ready parts, Materialise is ready to help design-approved organisations explore and produce new parts in line with industry standards — its processes aiding qualification requirements.
Mr de Zeeuw concluded: “The quality and process control system we have in place simplifies the digital thread necessary for qualifying 3-D printed metal parts, and that is something we are incredibly excited about. We are ready to talk to and work with our extensive network of partners in space and aviation to identify, produce, and develop the perfect applications for metal AM. Together, we will definitely see a whole raft of new opportunities quite literally take flight.”