GKN Aerospace announced that its Trollhättan, Sweden facility has become the first company worldwide to achieve Nadcap accreditation for its Laser Wire Directed Energy Deposition (L-DED-w) manufacturing process. According to GKN and Metal AM, the accreditation provides independent, industry-recognized validation of the L-DED-w process and is seen as a milestone in the industrialization of additive manufacturing for aerospace and defense. Metal AM reported on November 3; GKN's announcement dates to late October.
Nadcap (National Aerospace and Defense Contractors Accreditation Program) is a widely used special-process accreditation system across the aerospace supply chain, providing third-party audit of processes including heat treatment, welding, non-destructive testing and additive manufacturing. Earning L-DED-w accreditation means GKN's wire-based directed energy deposition process passed independent evaluation against an industry standard. The company has already designed, developed and delivered fully certified additively manufactured components in flight; this accreditation should accelerate further adoption.
Technically, laser wire DED uses metal wire as feedstock, melting material layer by layer onto a substrate with a laser, suited to large structural parts, repair and near-net shaping. Compared with powder-based processes, wire DED offers particular advantages in material utilization, deposition rate and openness. GKN has already achieved flight certification and serial production for laser-fused AM on parts such as the Fan Case Mount Ring (FCMR); this accreditation extends recognition to the wire DED process itself.
From an industry view, this adds a special-process certification to the aerospace supply chain's AM toolkit. Nadcap accreditation provides the qualification basis for the process to enter more aerospace customers' supply chains, and reflects the rising standardization of AM processes in aerospace. The specific scope of coverage and future applications rest with GKN Aerospace's disclosures.