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areas are highly confidential or clas- sified such as defense programs. But he foresees growth across the entire aviation spectrum in the coming years. Adding Up the Benefits So, what are the benefits of additive versus subtractive manufacturing in general aviation specifically? Brad ex- plains there are many such as lighter, stronger parts with less hardware and tooling required. “For new aircraft, additive allows for weight reduction and longer perfor- mance from the parts,” said Keselowski. “It’s also beneficial for prototyping new designs as you can get parts into a test environment much quicker than tradi- tional manufacturing processes.” When asked what KAM’s relation- ship could look like with aircraft OEMs, Brad says KAM is not a competitor but a partner – offering those companies the ability to move faster than they could on their own without sacrificing qual- ity or the need to invest in the expen- sive equipment and in-depth training themselves. “At this point in time, I would say aircraft OEMs are already using additive technology, but most of the components are coming from engine suppliers who built an engine using additive parts,” said Keselowski. “In the future, more parts will come from self-driven initia- tives and we will be there to help them.” One example of additive’s en- trance into aviation is GE Aviation’s Advanced Turboprop (ATP), which will power the new Cessna Denali single- engine turboprop. With advanced manu- facturing techniques like 3D printing, GE engineers were able to reduce 855 subtractive manufactured parts to 12 additive manufactured parts. Accord- ing to GE, this reduction in complexity speeds production, reduces fuel burn and weight, and increases durability with fewer seams and tighter tolerances. Additive technology is also grow- ing among maintenance and repair applications. For example, if an aircraft owner requires a rare replacement part – particularly for an aircraft no longer produced – additive methods can re-engineer and construct the part without the costs of traditional tooling and fixturing. This can especially be National Flight Simulator AOPA Product Marketing August 2019 / TWIN & TURBINE • 17