Developing Design for Additive Manufacturing (DAM)

While powder bed additive manufacturing (AM) is not a new technology, it has not yet been widely adopted in the aerospace industry. This project has greatly increased GKN Aerospace’s capability and knowledge of this technology and adjacent steps in the manufacturing process including powder production, heat treatment and surface finishing.
The Developing Design for Additive Manufacturing (DAM) project enabled GKN Aerospace to mature powder bed fusion technology for low criticality applications and the company is now working to industrialise this capability in the UK.
GKN Aerospace has developed unique IP across multiple areas of additive manufacturing making key advancements across control of microstructures, novel laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) process themes, and powder recycling strategies to improve cost-efficiency. Design innovations include complex repeating and support structures, generative design methods, and automated support removal.

LPBF process simulation and thermal calibration have improved accuracy and reduced failures while multi-laser benchmarking and coating trials for metal/polymer AM have informed demonstrator development. Surface finishing, heat treatment optimisation, and powder removal methods were explored for aerospace readiness.

Non-destructive testing (NDT) techniques and in-situ monitoring were assessed, identifying capability gaps and informing certification strategies. Material and process development for LPBF Haynes 282 and Inconel 718 alloys reached TRL5–6, supporting hot structure demonstrators.

Electron Beam Melting (EBM) and LPBF using alloy Titanium 64 were matured for cold structures, with TRL5 achievements and vendor benchmarking. A material-centric design approach demonstrated microstructure tailoring, generating new IP and identifying future R&D opportunities. These efforts collectively enhance GKN Aerospace’s AM capabilities and readiness for next-gen aerospace applications.