Science & Tech · Science & Environment · 2 hrs ago
China develops large 3D-printed aircraft structure
China is expanding metal 3D printing for military aircraft to make large, integrated structures and components with several functions.
The work is being done at a laboratory within AVIC’s Shenyang Aircraft Design and Research Institute, which is responsible for the J-35 fighter series.
The laboratory says it has made a 16.4-foot fuselage structure designed to carry and transfer loads in an aircraft’s central fuselage.
Making a structure as one piece can reduce the number of parts and assembly steps, while giving designers more freedom over its shape and weight.
A printed heat exchanger combines several functions inside an aircraft air intake, including heat transfer, air extraction and structural support.
Engineers developed a joining process for printed sections to address risks such as deformation and cracking during large-scale metal printing.
AVIC says the laboratory has used six printing processes and 13 metal materials, but the sources do not describe a next step for the new components.
China’s Shenyang Aircraft Design and Research Institute has developed a 3D-printed aircraft structural component more than 16.4 feet long.
The component is designed to carry and transfer loads in an aircraft’s central fuselage.
The institute has also developed an annular heat exchanger that combines heat transfer, air extraction, structural support and maintenance functions.
The work aims to reduce structural weight, simplify manufacturing and combine functions in individual components.
The laboratory reports using six additive manufacturing processes, 13 metal materials and 19 categories of printed aircraft components.
- Who
- Engineers at the Key Laboratory of Aviation Science and Technology for Novel Aircraft Structures, part of AVIC’s Shenyang Aircraft Design and Research Institute.
- What
- They developed a 3D-printed aircraft structure more than 16.4 feet long and a multifunctional annular heat exchanger.
- When
- The article was published on 2026-11-14.
- Where
- The work was conducted at the Shenyang Aircraft Design and Research Institute in China.
- Why
- The work aims to reduce aircraft structural weight, simplify manufacturing and combine functions in individual components.
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- Structural component
- More than 16.4 feet long
- Component location
- Aircraft central fuselage
- Heat exchanger location
- Inside an aircraft air intake
- Additive manufacturing processes
- 6
- Metal materials
- 13
- Printed aircraft component categories
- 19