Accelerating Operational Readiness with Laser Powder-Bed Fusion Additive Manufacturing

The Big Picture

In our commitment to drive supply chain resilience and accelerate design to flight timelines, Lockheed Martin has advanced the laser powder-bed fusion additive manufacturing process to enable faster operational readiness of next-generation aircraft, hypersonic systems and electric propulsion platforms.

Why It Matters

High performance electronics and propulsion systems used in aerospace and defense manufacturing generate significant heat and require thermal management systems to maintain stability and regulate temperature levels. Thermal management system components rely on traditional methods of casting, forging and brazing that require costly metal fabrication and machining to meet aerospace-grade tolerances and reliability requirements. These traditional processes create a major supply chain choke point due to longer raw-material lead times and alloy shortages, surging aftermarket demand for parts and disruptions due to geopolitical events.

Laser powder-bed fusion additive manufacturing uses design-driven digital processes that enable enhanced design opportunities by building parts layer-by-layer using metal powder without expensive and time-intensive tooling. Components can be made in smaller quantities with precision, driving shorter development cycles and accelerated time-to-market deliveries.

In 2024, Lockheed Martin's Missiles and Fire Control facility opened its doors to a 16,000-square-foot state-of-the-art additive manufacturing (AM) space. This expansion includes some of the largest format, multi-laser machines in Texas, as well as heat treatment and inspection equipment that enables rapid development and production of AM parts across the corporation.

Strategic Perspectives

By maturing laser powder-bed fusion additive processes in collaboration with key industry partners, we're advancing toward qualification and production transition of high performance, thin-walled components that meet the requirements of aerospace, defense and high energy systems.

"Combining our LPBF expertise with the specialized capabilities of our partners - Sintavia, EOS, Nikon SLM, and nTop - has created an end-to-end ecosystem that accelerates design to flight timelines without compromising reliability," said David Tatro, vice president, Operations Technology at Lockheed Martin. "This collaborative approach positions us to meet the escalating thermal management demands of next generation aircraft, hypersonic systems and electric propulsion platforms ensuring they meet rigorous certification standards and achieve operational readiness."

"nTop enables highly complex parametric models that optimize for performance and manufacturability, which reduces the time to make decisions and iterate from months to minutes," said Christopher Yakacki Ph.D., principal of Research Engineering, AMT, Lockheed Martin.

Dive Deeper

With nTop, Lockheed Martin's use of laser powder-bed fusion's generative design and optimization solutions deliver a 15-20 percent reduction in overall system weight while boosting heat dissipation efficiency by 10-15 percent. The results include longer mission endurance, lower lifecycle costs and superior thermal performance for aerospace, defense and high-performance industrial applications.

In close collaboration with EOS and Sintavia, Lockheed Martin has co-developed a new laser powder-bed fusion processing window and bespoke tool path strategies that push the limits of feature resolution and producibility. Process controlled tool paths, coupled with real-time melt pool monitoring, have enabled tighter assembly tolerances and enhanced build efficiency.

By integrating third-party sensor systems and AI-enabled analyses into our production workflows, we can detect defects early and reduce post-processing inspection workloads with real-time data automatically flagging suspect area zones. These informed zones paired with developments in computed tomography inspection of additively manufactured parts are building strong confidence in our analysis and inspection capabilities as well as supporting accelerated part qualification.

What's Next

Our laser powder-bed fusion technology is directly powering key warfighter platforms such as the UH-60M BlackHawk, and PrSM. By continuing to integrate this advanced manufacturing solution, we can accelerate production rates while delivering affordability and scalability to accelerate capabilities to the warfighter faster.