In another sign that 3D printing — or additive manufacturing (AM) — is truly beginning to make its mark, Naval Air Systems Command conducted its first successful flight demonstration using a critical aircraft component built with 3D print technology.

An MV-22B Osprey recently completed a test flight outfitted with a titanium, 3D-printed link and fitting assembly for the engine nacelle, as reported by Defense One and by the U.S. Navy in a statement. The link and fitting assembly is one of four that secure a V-22’s engine nacelle to the primary wing structure — and the piece will remain on the aircraft for continued evaluation.

Close

Related: Sinking His Teeth into 3D Printing

The flight was performed using the standard V-22 flight performance envelope, Defense One noted.

“The flight went great. I never would have known we had anything different on board,” said MV-22 Project Officer Maj. Travis Stephenson, who piloted the flight, in the statement.

In additive manufacturing, digital 3D design data is used to build components in layers of metal, plastic, and other materials. The metal part for this test event were printed at Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division in Lakehurst, New Jersey.

Before the flight, multiple V-22 components built by Lakehurst and Penn State Applied Research Laboratory were tested and validated at Patuxent River, the U.S. Navy noted.

Additive manufacturing “will revolutionize how we repair our aircraft and develop and field new capabilities — AM is a game changer,” said Liz McMichael, AM Integrated Product Team lead, according to the Navy’s statement. “In the last 18 months, we’ve started to crack the code on using AM safely. We’ll be working with V-22 to go from this first flight demonstration to a formal configuration change to use these parts on any V-22 aircraft.”

Naval aviation has been using additive manufacturing as a prototyping tool since the early 1990s, and recently began the process of printing non-flight critical parts and tools, the Navy said. It also said a great deal of work remains before deployed aircraft actually fly with 3D-printed parts.

To read more about developments in 3D printing, click here.