The aerospace industry has used 3D printing for over a decade—but mainly for small components under two feet. That is changing fast. Airbus is now 3D printing titanium structural parts up to seven meters (23 feet) long, moving from tiny brackets to massive airframe components.
In January 2026, Airbus began serial integration of the largest wire-Directed Energy Deposition (w-DED) titanium parts into the A350 Cargo Door Surround area (Airbus, January 2026).
Why does this matter? Traditional forging creates 80-95% material waste. Titanium costs over $30/kg. With w-DED’s near-net-shape approach, Airbus reduces this waste dramatically while cutting lead times from two years to just weeks.
This is not a prototype experiment—this is serial production. And it signals a massive shift in how commercial aircraft are built.
The Size Problem with Traditional Metal 3D Printing
For years, aerospace 3D printing meant powder-bed systems—machines that fuse metal powder layer by layer. They are precise and reliable, but limited in size. Most can only print parts less than two feet long.
This constraint kept 3D printing in the realm of small brackets, clips, and interior components. Structural parts—the big titanium pieces that handle flight stress—still came from forging, with all its material waste and tooling delays.
Airbus needed a solution for large structural parts. Their answer: wire-Directed Energy Deposition (w-DED).
How w-DED Works
w-DED uses a multi-axis robotic arm fed with titanium wire. A laser, plasma, or electron beam melts the wire instantly, fusing it layer-by-layer onto a surface—similar to welding, but guided by a 3D model.
The result is called a blank—a near-net-shape part that looks very close to the final design. A quick CNC machining pass then achieves exact dimensions.
Compared to powder-bed systems, w-DED is significantly faster:
- Powder-bed: hundreds of grams per hour
- w-DED: several kilograms per hour
This speed makes high-volume production of large structural parts economically viable (Airbus, January 2026).
The Economics—Less Waste, Faster Lead Times
Material Savings
Titanium is expensive—over $30 per kilogram. Traditional forging purchases far more titanium than ends up in the aircraft. This buy-to-fly ratio often reaches 10:1 or worse—that is, 80-95% of purchased material becomes chips or recycling.
w-DED addresses this directly. Because the part is grown into a near-net shape, there is very little excess to machine away. The buy-to-fly ratio improves to closer to 1:1.
For a single large structural component, this can mean tens of thousands of dollars in material savings alone.
Time Savings
Traditional forging requires massive tooling dies that take up to two years to develop. This upfront capital investment delays the entire program.
With w-DED, the part shape is defined by a computer program—no tooling required. Lead time shrinks from two years to just a few weeks.
This agility is critical during aircraft development, when designs are being tweaked and optimized right up to first flight (Airbus, January 2026).
From A350 to the Entire Aircraft
The A350 Cargo Door Surround is just the beginning. Airbus plans to expand w-DED to:
- More critical structural applications
- Wing components
- Landing gear components
This expansion follows a clear progression: prove the technology on non-critical parts, then move to increasingly demanding applications.
Importantly, w-DED enables Designed for DED—engineers can merge multiple separate components into a single, optimized part, simplifying the supply chain and reducing assembly labour.
What This Means for Manufacturers
Airlines and Aerospace suppliers should pay attention:
- Cost reduction is real—not just R&D claims, but serial production savings
- Supply chain simplification—fewer parts, fewer joints, fewer failure points
- Faster iteration—weeks instead of years for design changes
As Airbus accumulates experience with w-DED for critical parts, expect the technology to spread beyond Europe. Similar programs are likely in development at Boeing and other aerospace manufacturers.
Conclusion
The question is no longer Can 3D printing handle aerospace parts? The answer is yes—and now the question is how fast can we scale?
Airbus is already printing seven-meter titanium structural components. By 2026, w-DED will move from the Cargo Door Surround to wings and landing gear.
For manufacturers, the message is clear: understand additive manufacturing now, or risk falling behind an industry that is already taking off.
Interested in exploring metal 3D printing for your aerospace applications? Contact Hyperlab3d to discuss your specific requirements.