The manufacturing approach addresses challenges in producing thermal management components used in high-performance aerospace systems. Traditional fabrication methods such as casting and forging require complex machining and have contributed to supply chain bottlenecks due to material shortages and long lead times.
Lockheed Martin said laser powder-bed fusion uses digital, design-driven processes to build components layer by layer using metal powders. This method enables precise manufacturing in smaller quantities while reducing development cycles and speeding delivery timelines.
The company said it is working with industry partners including Sintavia, EOS and Nikon SLM to mature the process. The collaboration is focused on qualifying and transitioning high-performance components into production.
“Combining our LPBF expertise with the specialized capabilities of our partners — Sintavia, EOS, Nikon SLM, and nTop — has created an end-to-end ecosystem that accelerates design to flight timelines without compromising reliability,” said David Tatro, vice president of operations technology at Lockheed Martin.
“This collaborative approach positions us to meet the escalating thermal management demands of next generation aircraft, hypersonic systems and electric propulsion platforms ensuring they meet rigorous certification standards and achieve operational readiness,” he added.
Lockheed Martin said the integration of generative design tools has improved system performance and manufacturability. The company reported weight reductions of 15% to 20% and heat dissipation improvements of 10% to 15% in tested applications.
“nTop enables highly complex parametric models that optimize for performance and manufacturability, which reduces the time to make decisions and iterate from months to minutes,” said Christopher Yakacki, principal of research engineering at Lockheed Martin.
The company said it has also developed new processing techniques and monitoring systems to improve production efficiency and quality. These include real-time defect detection, advanced inspection methods and AI-enabled analysis to support faster qualification of manufactured parts.
Lockheed Martin said the technology is already being applied to platforms such as the UH-60M Black Hawk helicopter and the Precision Strike Missile programme. It added that continued adoption is expected to increase production rates while improving affordability and scalability for military systems.
