Belgian additive manufacturing (AM) company, Materialise, has earned its EN9100 certification for AM metal parts production, an achievement that signals a step forward for the use of 3D printing technology in the aviation industry.

Materialise already holds the certificate, which is a sector variant of the internationally recognised quality management standard ISO 9001, for polymer additive manufacturing. It produces more than 500,000 parts for aircrafts, OEMS, suppliers, and  MRO services.

The new EN9100 for metal part production will allow for new opportunities for part design and more efficient supply chain processes in the aerospace environment, by enabling Materialise to produce the new metal parts at a more affordable rate.

Erik de Zeeuw, market manager for aerospace at Materialise, said: “Low-criticality parts that need to be light, strong, and durable, such as seat bezels, housings, interior trims, or ducts, are particularly strong candidates. They often need to be repaired or replaced, but in small quantities. These are requirements that align perfectly with key benefits of metal 3D printing.”

As one of the few providers certified for Airbus AIPI (airbus process instruction) standards, it will now be able to identify and source flight-ready metal or polymer 3D printed parts, and low-critically parts, in an important innovation for the sector.

“We are ready to talk to and work with our extensive network of partners in space and aviation to identify, produce, and develop the perfect applications for metal AM. Together, we will definitely see a whole raft of new opportunities quite literally take flight,” said de Zeeuw.