Why an airline should care that Stratasys is backing AM Craft for 3D printing aircraft parts.

Odds are that the name "AM Craft" is a new one to you.? If you know the name, it almost certainly means that you are a European or Middle Eastern airline or aviation supplier that has struggled to solve a supply chain issue and found your way to 3d printing. Some of you 3D printing fans that follow Stratasys maybe saw the name for the first time last week when the news of a partnership and strategic investment was released. So, what should you know?

AM Craft - Aviation Additive Manufacturing Services is an aviation supplier that specializes in solving supply chain problems for aircraft components with polymer 3d printing.? The company hold an EASA part 21G Production Organization Approval, which means they can deliver an install-ready flight component complete with airworthiness certificate (Form 1).? Headquartered in Riga, Latvia, AM Craft's production approval has been extended to Paradigm 3D in Dubai, and as a result of a strategic investment by Stratasys , the AM Craft production network will soon extend to Singapore, Hamburg, and the United States.? But, we'll come back to that…

The problem AM Craft has been solving for airlines and MROs is how to quickly and cost effectively source low-to-mid volume components in a struggling supply chain.? Airlines frequently have needs for spare parts that are too small in quantity for the OEM to prioritize, or they have a part that keeps breaking and they need a different part to more robustly fit the same need, or they can get the part they need but the lead time is months when they need weeks or days, or there is a need to make a minor cabin modification and no supplier that fits the need.? These are all the types of problems that AM Craft addresses, and the magic that allows them to successfully address this type of supply chain problem is their expertise in creating airworthiness-certified 3d printed parts.

The types of supply chain problems described above have been a challenge for 3d printing in the past because the right type of supplier didn't exist.? Airlines need a part, but most 3d printing companies are focused on the technology and the sale of 3d printing systems and materials.? The 3d printing companies that focus on part production are often generalized contract manufacturers with no aerospace-specific certification expertise.? This leaves a gap of unaddressed end customer needs - those of customers who seek the value 3d printing offers without the burden of design, manufacturing, and certification of the part.

This is what makes AM Craft unique - the capability to engineer or re-engineer a needed component and take it all the way through the production and certification processes such that an end customer receives the part they need without the burden of learning a relatively new and rapidly evolving technology.? AM Craft has demonstrated success in this type of opportunity.? For example, when designing and certifying a range of PSU filler panels, first installed on Finnair A320s.

AM Craft has a clear strategy for building on this success to deliver increasing value across the aviation marketplace.? The strategy centers around growing a catalog of available, printable parts, and ensuring those parts can be produced globally in aviation hubs.? This enables the airlines to acquire the parts wherever needed without the environmental impacts of shipping parts all over the world.

Now back to that mention of Stratasys .? Even if you haven't heard of AM Craft, if you've heard of 3d printing, Stratasys is a well-known name to you as one of the original 3d printing companies and an undisputed leader in production-level additive manufacturing technology.? AM Craft primarily uses Stratasys equipment and material because of its industrial readiness and recognition within aerospace and other industries as the gold standard for production equipment.? Stratasys has been very successful in helping major aerospace OEMs like Airbus , Boeing , Lockheed Martin , and others successfully adopt 3d printing for aerospace.? This also extends to end users like the US military.? The Stratasys business model, however, is not ideal for serving the airline and MRO market because of the very reasons identified above.? Stratasys created Additive Flight Solutions Pte Ltd in Singapore, which evolved to a model very similar to AM Craft, and that's where the opportunity to align begins.

Stratasys has recognition in industry as a technology leader.? Stratasys builds the printers that AM Craft needs to grow capacity, and Stratasys has an office in Singapore that operates a similar business model.? AM Craft needs to be able to produce parts in more aviation hubs (like Singapore and Hamburg), needs to show prospective customers that printing capacity can readily be expanded to meet any level of demand, and needs to build confidence with customers by showing that the company is backed by the recognized industry leader.? Thus partnering with Stratasys is an ideal next step in AM Craft's growth path.

Stratasys gains a focused, expert team developing applications in aviation that leverage Stratasys technology.? AM Craft gains the industrial vote of confidence and capacity access of their key supplier, the ability to expand the network with two new offices (Additive Flight Solutions in Singapore, and a new facility in Hamburg Germany).

To an airline, this means that they can gain all the benefits of 3d printing (high mix low volume economics, short lead times) from an aviation supplier with airworthiness certification credentials, and have the confidence that, even though AM Craft may fit the definition of a startup, they have the credibility of the industry's leading name, Stratasys, right behind them.