1. Industry Overview
Aerospace manufacturing involves producing components for:
- Commercial aviation (airliners, cargo planes)
- Military aircraft
- Spacecraft
- Unmanned aerial systems (UAS/Drones)
Aerospace parts must meet extremely high standards for safety, reliability, and performance, making the industry one of the most regulated and precision-focused.
2. Key Aerospace Manufacturing Standards
AS9100 / AS9110 / AS9120
- AS9100: Quality management for aerospace manufacturing
- AS9110: For aerospace maintenance and repair
- AS9120: For aerospace distributors
NADCAP (National Aerospace and Defense Contractors Accreditation Program)
Required for special processes such as:
- Heat treating
- Welding
- Non-destructive testing (NDT)
- Surface treatments (anodizing, plating)
- Composites manufacturing
Customer-Specific Standards
- Boeing (BSS, BAC)
- Airbus (AIPS, AITM)
- Lockheed Martin, GE Aviation, Rolls-Royce
Often require proprietary documentation, audits, and approvals.
3. Common Materials for Aerospace Parts
Metals
| Material | Use Cases |
|---|---|
| Aluminum alloys (2000, 7000 series) | Structural parts, ribs, brackets |
| Titanium alloys (Ti-6Al-4V) | Engine components, airframe, landing gear |
| Stainless steel / Inconel | High-temp engine parts, fasteners |
| Magnesium alloys | Lightweight housings and brackets |
Composites
| Composite | Use |
|---|---|
| Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) | Wings, fuselage sections, interior panels |
| Glass fiber composites | Radomes, secondary structures |
| Aramid (Kevlar) | Impact-resistant areas |
4. Aerospace Manufacturing Processes
A. Machining
- CNC milling and turning (tight tolerances: ±0.01 mm or better)
- 5-axis machining for complex geometries
- High-speed machining for aluminum
- EDM for hard metals or precision shapes
B. Additive Manufacturing (AM)
Growing rapidly for:
- Lightweight lattice structures
- Rapid prototyping
- Low-volume custom parts
Materials: titanium, Inconel, aluminum, high-temp polymers (PEEK, ULTEM)
C. Composite Layup
- Hand layup or automated fiber placement (AFP)
- Autoclave curing or out-of-autoclave (OOA) processes
D. Forging & Casting
- Titanium forging for strength-critical parts
- Investment casting for turbine blades
E. Moulding
- Injection moulding for polymer parts
- Silicone rubber moulding for seals, gaskets, isolators
5. Surface Treatments & Coatings
To ensure durability and corrosion resistance:
- Anodizing (aluminum)
- Passivation (stainless steel)
- Hard coatings (TiN, DLC)
- Thermal barrier coatings (for turbine blades)
- Painting & priming (aerospace-approved formulations)
6. Inspection & Quality Control
Non-destructive Testing (NDT)
- Ultrasonic testing
- Dye penetrant
- Magnetic particle
- X-ray / CT scanning
- Eddy current
Dimensional Inspection
- CMM (Coordinate Measuring Machine)
- Laser scanning
- Optical measurement systems
Material Certification
Each batch must include:
- Mill certificates
- Chemical composition data
- Mechanical test results
7. Documentation Requirements
Aerospace documentation is as important as the part itself. Key documents include:
- First Article Inspection (FAI) – AS9102
- Process control documents
- Traceability records (raw material → finished product)
- Work instructions & traveler documents
- Test reports and inspection logs
8. Supply Chain & Production Planning
- Small lots and long lead times are common
- Materials often require customer-approved sources
- Risk management for critical parts
- Obsolescence planning for older aircraft programs
9. Certification & Compliance Workflow
- Customer inquiry + engineering review
- Material selection + design approval
- Prototype machining or moulding
- FAI and validation testing
- Production with NADCAP processes
- 100% inspection for critical parts
- Documentation package submission
- Delivery + ongoing audit compliance
10. Best Practices for Aerospace Manufacturers
- Maintain clean, controlled production environments
- Invest in high-precision equipment (5-axis CNC, CMM, AFP, etc.)
- Enforce strict process discipline
- Perform continual training for AS9100 and NADCAP
- Implement digital manufacturing (MES, ERP systems)
- Build strong relationships with approved suppliers
