Additive manufacturing (AM) of aerospace components create opportunities for lighter weight and higher performance parts which could significantly reduce both manufacturing waste (lower buy-to-fly ratio) and the weight of an aircraft. This will result in fuel savings, operational costs and decrease carbon emissions, thereby benefiting our environment.

We do not anticipate a change to the crucial parts of the aircraft, such as the wings and fuselage in the near future but there is real potential in the replacement of less flight-critical parts, such as brackets, clamps, hinges, seat buckles and furnishings.

To produce a 1kg bracket for an airplane, for example, requires 10kg of raw material input into the manufacturing process. From an engineering design perspective, that final bracket may still contain much more metal than is required for the application. 3D printing, on the other hand, requires far less raw material inputs and can further produce parts that minimise weight through better lattice type design. Current sub-optimal designs are due to the limits of conventional manufacturing. When we make something in layer-by-layer fashion as in AM, those constraints diminish.

One of the biggest barriers to the aerospace industry fully adopting additive manufacturing, according to companies we have spoken to, is the cost and availability of the powder metal. The 15-45 micron fraction used in AM is only approximately 40% of the production. If the atomiser nozzle can be designed to increase this fraction to 50-60% the price significantly reduces and availability increases, making it more viable for aerospace components.

Liberty Powder Metals (project lead) and the Materials Processing Institute (subcontractor) have employees with over 30 years experience in the metals industry who have been involved in redesigning basic oxygen steelmaking, oxygen lance nozzles, using audiometry, physical, mathematical modelling and working closely with the nozzle manufacturer to successfully improve refining of the steel bath and to maximise the amount of scrap melting to make the process more efficient and economically viable. The same people and skills together with the University of Leeds will be used in this project to use modelling and audiometry to investigate the feasibility of modifying the atomiser nozzle.

This project will help deliver on the government's [Clean Growth Strategy][0] and [net zero ambition][1] to protect the climate and environment for current and future generations by reducing waste from the manufacturing of aerospace components, light weighting of aircraft and reducing fuel consumption.

[0]: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/clean-growth-strategy
[1]: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-becomes-first-major-economy-to-pass-net-zero-emissions-law