C. A. Brice, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company, Fort Worth, TX; J. E. Barnes, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, Marietta, GA; K. M. Taminger, R. A. Hafley, NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA

Summary:

Rapid deployment of prototype aircraft require agressive timelines for material procurement and fabrication. Conventional methods for fabricating metallic structures can be cost prohibitive due to expensive nonrecurring tooling requirements than cannot be amortized over a long production run. Additionally, timeframes for receiving such critical parts can easily exceed the deadline for fielding the final fully assembled structure. Freeform fabrication methods can be used to overcome these obstacles, especially for large parts requiring forging and/or extensive machining. Additionally, near final designs can kick off long lead procurement of raw material while design work can continue. Once the design is finallized, the details can be worked into the final configuration compressing the overall schedule. This presention provides a case study in the rapid fabrication of a time critical structural titanium part using electron beam freeform fabrication technology.