Rapid and cost-effective manufacturing of high-integrity aerospace components

This paper presents a comprehensive set of theoretical investigations and industrial applications of computer-based rapid manufacturing technology for high-integrity aerospace components. Two rapid manufacturing processes have been proposed by integrating rapid prototyping, high-speed machining (HSM), reverse engineering and geometric computation theory. They have been validated through trial manufacturing of a matrix of current aerospace components embracing critical design features to be found across the aerospace industry. Applied to future development programmes, this research will provide aerospace companies the benefits of significant decrease in product introduction lead-time, savings in non-recurring product introduction costs and considerable reduction in manufacturing costs for “one off” and low volume service parts. The findings can also be applied to rapid prototype development in other industries, such as automotive and military.