Additive Manufacturing of Composite Materials: Advancing Aerospace and Defense

Insights from an Air Force engineer on the DoD’s use of additive manufacturing and the growing impact of 3D printing across industry

Jordan Weininger is an Advanced Composites engineer at the United States Air Force’s Advanced Composites Office on Hill Air Force Base. The views expressed are his own and do not represent official U.S. Air Force policy.

Future manufacturing technologies are already operational; the real challenge lies in integrating them into the industries that can benefit most. Beyond creating the technology, it is essential to establish repeatable processes and define minimum allowable mechanical properties (B‑basis allowables) that enable practical, real‑world deployment.

My work with the advanced composites team at Hill Air Force Base has provided firsthand insight into how additive manufacturing is reshaping aerospace and defense, as well as its broader implications for commercial 3D printing.

Composite Engineering in the U.S. Air Force

Composite engineering is increasingly critical across industries. My career path led me to the Air Force, specifically the Advanced Composites Office, which serves all DoD organizations. Beyond design, analysis, and repair, we conduct week‑long courses that introduce DoD personnel to composite fundamentals and advanced technician training, providing hands‑on experience in design and repair.

Industrial Expansion of 3D Printing

Across diverse sectors, additive manufacturing has become a cornerstone for prototyping, especially for small‑to‑medium‑size manufacturers. The ability to produce functional prototypes before scaling production is a decisive advantage.

Today’s material library—ranging from metals and composites to advanced thermoplastics—enables engineers to perform fit‑and‑function tests and digitize concepts early in development. The technology streamlines design, reduces lead times, and lowers costs for low‑volume parts, often making 3D printing more economical than traditional molding or CNC machining.

We anticipate growth in additive tooling—brackets, hinges, mounts, and shop aids—and foresee an expansion into end‑use functional components. Companies such as Markforged are now printing composites and metals that provide the strength required for many aerospace and defense applications.

Why the Air Force is Turning to Additive

Direct applications of 3D printing in the Air Force and broader defense community are expanding in two key areas:

1. Small‑Batch Production. Aircraft programs often require limited run parts, and many of these can be produced on‑site with the right additive technology.

2. Distributed Manufacturing. By deploying affordable printers across multiple bases, the Air Force can produce critical components locally, eliminating the need to ship parts across the globe and reducing downtime.

These capabilities are driving a broader shift toward additive manufacturing in military and aerospace operations.

Additive Tooling for Aging Aircraft Repairs – MRO

The Advanced Composites Office focuses on composite design, analysis, engineering, and repair within the Life Cycle Management Center, which addresses aging aircraft maintenance. When original tooling is lost or unavailable, additive manufacturing enables the creation of new tooling, ensuring continued airworthiness.

Our approach often starts with a 3D scan of an existing part, from which we reconstruct a CAD model suitable for 3D printing. The resulting tool can then be used to produce composite components for aircraft that no longer have legacy tooling.

Additive Manufacturing for Composite Tooling

Many defense contractors still rely on large‑scale Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) parts for tooling, which requires post‑machining before they can be used in composite lay‑up. This intermediate step erodes some of the efficiencies that additive manufacturing offers.

By printing tooling directly with a vacuum‑tight finish—eliminating the need for CNC machining and additional surface treatments—we can reduce time, cost, and material waste. The resulting tooling aligns precisely with CAD specifications, accelerating the composite production cycle and unlocking higher‑impact applications for 3D printing in defense manufacturing.

Image Credits: Hill Air Force Base photo gallery