As industrial 3D printing becomes more widely adopted, it is critical to have a readily available workforce certified in additive manufacturing. In certain industries specifically, such as aerospace and defense, having workers knowledgeable in additive manufacturing is essential for innovation.
The industries embracing this technology are driving skills development in additive, encouraging training and certification for current and future employees. This is because 3D printing offers significant advantages that lead manufacturers to invest in upskilling their workforce to leverage it. Learn more about the industries widely adopting additive manufacturing and the resulting effect on the sector’s workforce.
The Best-Fit Applications for Additive Manufacturing in Aerospace
Aerospace manufacturers have readily adopted additive manufacturing, using this technology to create unique part designs that perform better than traditionally manufactured counterparts. Because of the prevalence of 3D printing in this industry, aerospace manufacturers are looking for workers who have knowledge or certification in additive manufacturing.
Benefits like design flexibility, reduced lead times, and on-demand production capabilities have led to widespread adoption of additive manufacturing in the aerospace sector. Today there are many applications for 3D-printed parts in aerospace, including fuel nozzles, turbine components, cabin panels, and ventilation pieces.
Having a workforce that can specifically design parts for additive manufacturing has become invaluable for innovation and performance improvements. For example, one aerospace manufacturer used 3D printing to update the design of an interior dado panel. This panel contained latches and pins that would frequently break — grounding a plane until technicians replaced the panel. Using 3D printing, engineers and designers at this company updated the latch design and created a 3D-printed repair kit. Additive manufacturing helped extend the dado panel’s lifecycle and enable product repair instead of replacement.
This example not only shows how manufacturers can use additive to create new part designs but also showcases the technology’s maintenance capabilities. 3D printing enables manufacturers to complete small production runs when operators need only a few replacement parts to return an aircraft to service. This allows aerospace companies to avoid manufacturing more parts than they need, reducing waste, saving time, and eliminating added warehouse costs.
Additive manufacturing continues to drive innovation in the aerospace industry, and more opportunities exist for manufacturers to create better parts with 3D printing. That is why it’s so important to have a workforce certified in additive manufacturing. Engineers with knowledge and experience in additive are a requirement for the technology to continue to grow in the aerospace industry.
Enhancing Mission Readiness with Additive Manufacturing
Another industry heavily adopting additive manufacturing is the defense sector. The ability to create parts on demand, especially mission-critical components, has proven invaluable for defense operations. 3D printing has helped in-field teams overcome supply chain barriers and stay prepared in quickly changing environments.
To fully take advantage of additive technologies, defense organizations must train and certify their personnel in additive manufacturing. This enables teams to design and create 3D-printed components for everything from prototyping to replacement parts. Many critical defense products come from a single vendor, and global supply chains have become increasingly unreliable. Reliance on these supply chains can threaten mission readiness and success. Having 3D printing on-site gives defense teams flexibility in these scenarios, enabling quick response times to varying situations, including in times of crisis.
With defense personnel certified in additive manufacturing, in-field teams can manufacture the exact component they need when they need it. Teams take designs directly from finalization to production, with a turnaround time of just hours compared to the weeks and months traditional manufacturing supply chains can take. Aside from reducing reliance on supply chains, this capability has several benefits, including saving money and time on tooling setup, reducing inventory needs in remote locations, and improving operational readiness. Case studies have even shown significant cost savings when defense teams switch from outsourcing a part to 3D printing it on-site.
All of these benefits and success stories are leading to wider adoption of additive manufacturing in the defense industry. But it’s not simply a matter of deploying this technology everywhere; the industry must strategize how to move beyond these limited use cases and integrate additive manufacturing directly into defense systems. Additionally, the sector needs a ready workforce of defense personnel knowledgeable in additive manufacturing to help integrate it into workflows, and it must adopt certification frameworks to ensure 3D-printed parts meet necessary specifications and requirements.
Effectively integrating additive manufacturing into field operations and defense systems will help the industry simplify supply chains and make them more resilient while maintaining readiness for successful mission operations. With defense spending on additive manufacturing rapidly increasing, this technology is becoming an integral part of future defense strategy.
Prioritizing Additive Manufacturing Certification
The defense and aerospace industries are two major sectors adopting and advancing additive manufacturing, but 3D printing technologies are becoming more commonplace across the board in manufacturing industries. Because of the increased interest and investment in additive technologies, there are now many programs and educational offerings providing training and certification in additive manufacturing.
An experienced workforce is necessary for additive manufacturing to continue to thrive in manufacturing. Organizations like America Makes and SME are helping to increase adoption and certification of additive manufacturing through training, educational partnerships, and industry events. Their efforts are not only driving increased adoption but also improving upon the technology and ensuring there is a readily available workforce that can leverage additive manufacturing in the industrial sector.
If you’re a manufacturing professional interested in learning more about additive manufacturing or exploring certification, look into attending RAPID + TCT 2027. This event is a place for the additive manufacturing ecosystem to connect and provides networking opportunities for those working with industrial 3D printing. The event also sometimes offers certification classes for attendees seeking to gain more knowledge in additive manufacturing. Don’t miss the next RAPID + TCT, taking place from April 12 to15, 2027, in Detroit, Michigan.