Introduction

The aerospace market consists of sales of aerospace equipment (including aircraft) and related services by entities (organizations, sole traders and partnerships) that produce commercial aircraft, undertake aircraft maintenance, repair and overhauling services, and produce support and auxiliary equipment, such as radar, air traffic control towers and satellites for civilian purpose.
The defense market consists of sales of air-based, sea-based and land-based military equipment by entities (organizations, sole traders and partnerships) that produce air-based, sea-based and land-based military equipment including support and auxiliary equipment such as radar, satellites, sonars and other auxiliary equipment or maintain, repair and overhaul defense equipment.
The defense equipment maintenance, repair and overhauling services market provide services for all kinds of air, sea and land-based defense equipment, including fighter aircraft, military helicopter, battle ships, submarines, armored vehicles, missiles and rocket launchers

Trend

The aerospace parts manufacturing industry maintains high quality standards, rigorous testing practices, and strict regulatory requirements in order to ensure the function, fit, and reliability of every part. The aerospace industry uses many specialized parts and, given the nature of flight, many of these parts are mission-critical.
With the many relevant regulatory requirements, testing criteria, and functional requirements at work in modern aerospace manufacturing, part precision is very important. The way aircraft are produced and assembled is precise, so inconsistencies and flaws can have wide-reaching negative effects.
CNC machining is a good fit for manufacturing aerospace parts because the process is capable of achieving extremely tight tolerances for both plastic and metal parts.
5-axis CNC machining, in particular, proves useful in manufacturing complex aircraft components. This aerospace machining process allows for cutting operations and workpieces to be manipulated along the X, Y, Z, and linear axes simultaneously. This reduces the need to reconfigure or fixture the part between operations and makes it possible to create parts with greater complexity.
In the world of aerospace manufacturing, complexity tends to offer a range of benefits, including lightweighting. Parts that are hollowed out or geometrically complex, coupled with the development of advanced, performance-grade engineering plastics, make it possible to dramatically reduce the weight of assemblies without sacrificing strength, quality, or other performance characteristics. 5-axis machining is ideal for addressing the precision, technical specifics, and scope needs associated with aerospace components.
The defense equipment maintenance, repair and overhauling services companies are investing in 3D printing or additive manufacturing technologies to offer replacement parts for tanks, ships, fighter jets. 3D printing involves producing three dimensional objects using computer aided design model. The application of 3D printing is to create functional components including prototypes, tooling and end-use production parts. Additive manufacturing or 3D printing helps in cost-effective production of small batches of intricate parts and complex part designs that needs to be repaired, upgraded and effectively maintained. The technology provides high degree of design freedom, optimization and integration of functional features, and product customization.

Challenge

Rapid advances in wireless technology and miniaturization (which refers to designing smaller components for equipment) is expected to drive innovation in defense market, thus driving the market during the forecast period. Furthermore, technologies such as 3D printing, artificial intelligence and big data analytics are being used during the manufacturing process, resulting in higher productivity, lower operating costs and higher margins. Lower operating costs lead to higher margins, this allows companies to expand production and increase product portfolio, thus driving the growth of the aircraft maintenance, repair and overhauling services market.

AVIATION
Accuracy and precision are critical to building and assembling safe, functional aircraft, and CNC machining plays a key role in producing aerospace manufacturing tools accurately and efficiently. Many aerospace parts — ranging from outer shells and wings to engines and cockpit components — can be machined, which helps guarantee greater degrees of consistency throughout production while minimizing the risk of part failure.

SPACEFLIGHT
Even more so than aircraft, spacecraft must be built and assembled with accuracy and precision. There are a couple of reasons for this. First, spacecraft often have to withstand the environs of space for long stretches of time, potentially lasting as long as years. Second, re-entering Earth’s atmosphere is no walk in the park — spacecraft meant to survive reentry cannot be assembled in a casual manner.

Both of these are highly reliant on selecting the right materials during the manufacturing process. In addition, this makes precision and accuracy critical to protect both the crew and all the expensive equipment — that could contain samples, sensor data, or other valuable data — onboard the ship, as well. The design, engineering, manufacturing, and assembly processes all focus on ensuring safety for those on board.

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