Materials to lift new ideas off the ground

摘要

As the aerospace industry rises to the challenge of reducing the weight of aircraft while keeping manufacturing costs down, new materials and techniques are playing an increasingly important role in component design. Stephen Dyson, head of Industry 4.0 at Proto Labs, considers the latest developments One consequence of the trend towards producing lighter aircraft is an increase in demand for lightweight materials, especially aluminium and titanium alloys, with new technologies in composites and metals opening up possibilities for aerospace part designers. But how can the aerospace industry make the most of these materials to create lighter components? Also, which manufacturing processes best support aerospace part design?