Aerospace Component Manufacturing for Prototyping and Production

Designing aerospace and defense components is an inherently high-risk endeavor. This puts greater stress on the early development stages when materials and manufacturing processes are being tested and validated. To combat this, product engineers turn to Protolabs to iterate designs more quickly, prototype in final materials, and manufacture complex geometries. Our automated manufacturing services can be leveraged throughout the product life cycle, from early prototyping and design validation to hot-fire testing and launch.

Why Do Aerospace and Defense Companies Use Protolabs?

Metal 3D Printing Technology

Use our industrial 3D printing service to build intricate geometries in order to lightweight part designs or reduce the number of metal components in an assembly.

Aerospace Tools and Fixtures

Get durable, production-grade tools, fixtures, and other aids within days so development and workflow remain forward moving.

Quality Certifications and Traceability

Take advantage of our AS9100- and ISO9001-certified machining and 3D printing processes for high-requirement parts. Aluminum traceability is also available on projects that qualify.

Automated CNC Machining

Leverage high-speed 3-axis and 5-axis milling processes as well as turning with live tooling for increasingly complex metal and plastic components.

Aerospace Materials

Choose from machined metals like aluminum, titanium, and stainless steel 17-4 PH along with 3D-printed metals like Inconel and cobalt chrome.

What Materials Work Best for Aerospace Components? 

Titanium. Available through machining and metal 3d printing services, this lightweight and strong material offers excellent corrosion and temperature resistance.

Aluminum. This metal’s high strength-to-weight ratio makes it a good candidate for housing and brackets that must support high loading. We offer both Aluminum 7075 T7—which can handle repeated stress cycles typical of aerospace components—and Aluminum 2024 T3—which offers high corrosion resistance critical to components exposed to harsh elements. Aluminum is available for both machined and 3D-printed parts. 

Inconel. This 3D-printed metal is a nickel chromium superalloy ideal for rocket engine components and other applications that require high-temperature resistance.

Stainless Steel. SS 17-4 PH is widely used in the aerospace industry due to its high strength, good corrosion resistance, and good mechanical properties at temperatures up to 600°F. Like titanium, it can be machined or 3D printed.

Liquid Silicone Rubber. Our elastic fluorosilicone material is specifically geared towards fuel and oil resistance while our optical silicone rubber is a great PC/PMMA alternative.

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