Using additive manufacturing for rapid tooling of obsolete spare parts in the aerospace industry

In this research, we evaluate if using additive manufacturing (AM) for rapid tooling (RT) purposes provides a possibly cost-effective approach for spare parts of which production tools are missing. This option was proposed in other research, because using AM for spare parts directly suffered from too high certification costs. These can be avoided if AM is used indirectly for RTs, with which parts can be produced using the current production methods used. We found that for The Company, RT could theoretically be beneficial for injection molds, vacuum forming tools and press tools. The key for this potential lies in switching tooling material, from metal to plastic. We perform two case studies to evaluate the potential cost-effectiveness of using RT, using a stochastic dynamic program. In theory, RT might be a beneficial solution for spare part production. We propose testing the technology using cheap parts, that have high tooling expenses. In addition, we recommend collaborate with suppiers that are able to produce RTs and the resulting parts. For metal casting parts, we recommend further research in the production method transition to sand casting or investment casting.