NASA and FAA Propose Computer Simulations to Fast-Track Metal 3D Printed Aviation Parts

The Certification Bottleneck

Despite years of investment in metal additive manufacturing, the technology has made limited progress in certified aviation hardware. The obstacle isn't the printing itself — it's what comes after.

Under current FAA rules, every new 3D printed metal part must be validated through exhaustive physical testing. Each change in alloy, printer model, or part geometry can trigger a fresh round of testing. Certification was designed around conventional manufacturing, where materials behave predictably and uniformly. Metal 3D printing doesn't work that way.

Because a laser melts and fuses thousands of layers of metal powder, the thermal history varies across the part, producing a microstructure that can differ from one location to the next. Capturing and proving the safety of that variability through physical testing alone is slow, expensive, and doesn't scale.

The CM4QC Roadmap

The 195-page strategy document was developed over five years by a steering group known as CM4QC (Computational Materials for Qualification and Certification), comprising experts from Boeing, Lockheed Martin, GE Aerospace, Honeywell, RTX, Carnegie Mellon University, and several national laboratories.

The report proposes using validated computer simulations to trace the physics from the laser beam all the way to the finished component's mechanical performance — modeling how the microstructure forms, where internal stresses develop, and how the part is likely to behave under fatigue loading in service.

Simulation Maturity Levels

To make simulation results reliable enough for regulatory use, the report introduces a "Simulation Maturity Level" framework — a structured method for engineers and regulators to assess how much confidence to place in any given model. The framework covers code verification, experimental validation, and uncertainty quantification.

Some simulation tools are already considered mature enough for industrial use:

• Residual stress prediction — widely adopted
• CALPHAD — computational method for modeling alloy chemistry

Others, especially those predicting fatigue life from first principles, still need significant development.

The Cost Problem

Generating the allowables data required to certify a single new material and process combination currently costs more than $1 million and takes upward of 18 months. That figure resets with each change in alloy, machine, or geometry. For a manufacturing method as variable and configurable as metal 3D printing, the math doesn't work.

If the roadmap is followed, the benefits extend beyond additive manufacturing. The framework is designed to apply to any manufacturing process where the complexity of production makes traditional test-heavy certification impractical, including friction stir welding and powder metallurgy.

Industry Momentum

The concept is gaining traction elsewhere. At the 2025 AMUG Conference, Flow Science demonstrated how melt pool simulation predicts defect formation in metal AM builds before printing begins, with results matching physical experiments to within 10%.

Honeywell is leading Project STRATA, a £14.1 million UK government-backed initiative combining AI and physics-based simulation to develop and qualify 3D printed aerospace components.

Flight certification by simulation alone is still some way off. But the industry now has a concrete, detailed plan for getting there.