The MTC (Manufacturing Technology Centre), Coventry, UK, and ASTM International UK are reported to have joined the Digitally Enabled Competitive and Sustainable Additive Manufacturing (DECSAM) consortium. The £38 million, four-year project aims to accelerate the adoption of Laser Beam Powder Bed Fusion (PBF-LB) in civil aerospace.

“Additive Manufacturing can unlock new efficiencies in aerospace, lowering costs, optimising material use, reducing weight, and consolidating complex assemblies into single parts,” stated Jacqueline Castle, Chief Technology Officer at the Aerospace Technology Institute. “DECSAM unites a strong consortium to accelerate adoption in civil aerospace, aligning closely with the ATI’s Additive Manufacturing strategy to drive future economic growth and sustainability.”

“As the National Centre for Additive Manufacturing, we’re excited to help improve the cost-competitiveness of the technology so that it can be scaled and adopted more widely across the UK’s aerospace industry,” added Dr David Brackett, Chief Engineer – Digital Engineering, MTC. “This large programme is an opportunity to make a major step forward towards this, and we’re proud to be playing a central role in its delivery and working with excellent partners.”

Led by Airbus, the DECSAM programme will develop and deploy the latest Additive Manufacturing technologies (e.g. beam shaping and in-situ process monitoring) in an effort to make PBF-LB AM more cost-effective, productive and sustainable for flight-ready parts. The project, which runs until June 2028, is a research and innovation project funded by Innovate UK, the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) and the UK Department for Business and Trade.

Beyond Airbus Operations Limited (lead), the project now includes Renishaw plc, ASTM International UK, Authentise, The Manufacturing Technology Centre, GKN Aerospace Services, Additive Manufacturing Solutions, APEX Additive Technologies, Domin, University of Sheffield, and ToffeeX.

Author: Andy Cormack