Materialise Offers EN 9100 Certification for AM Metal Parts Production

Materialise has gained EN 9100 certification for its metal AM processes for aerospace. A sector-specific variant of ISO 9001, EN 9100 certifies that an organization has implemented a quality management system that ensures product quality, process control, regulatory compliance, and continuous improvement.

The company already holds EN 9100 for its polymer additive manufacturing processes dedicated to the sector, producing upwards of 500,000 flying parts to date for aircraft original equipment suppliers, suppliers, and maintenance repair organizations.

With EN 9100 for metal now in place, Materialise’s manufacturing capabilities open up new opportunities for part design and supply chain efficiencies for stakeholders in the aerospace ecosystem.

Materialise is one of a few providers of additive manufacturing processes certified to Airbus AIPI standards—recently achieving the highest grade on the Airbus Quality Maturity assessment. The AM-for-aviation specialist also holds a Production Organization Approval (POA) from EASA, enabling them to manufacture flight-ready parts to Form 1 accreditation.

“Low-criticality parts that need to be light, strong, and durable, such as seat bezels, housings, interior trims, or ducts, are particularly strong candidates," Erik de Zeeuw, market manager for Aerospace at Materialise, comments. "They often need to be repaired or replaced, but in small quantities. These are requirements that align perfectly with key benefits of metal 3D printing, including the ability to have digital ‘on-demand’ stock for faster, more reliable sourcing, and cost-efficient production of small series parts.”

The scale of its manufacturing facilities, its status as a POA, and now the quality assurance delivered by its EN 9100-certified processes means that in addition to printing flight-ready parts, Materialise is ready to help Design Approved Organizations explore and produce new parts in line with industry standards—its processes aiding qualification requirements.

“The quality and process control system we have in place simplifies the digital thread necessary for qualifying 3D-printed metal parts," de Zeeuw adds. "And that’s something we are incredibly excited about.“We are ready to talk to and work with our extensive network of partners in space and aviation to identify, produce, and develop the perfect applications for metal AM."

You can learn more about Materialise's certified manufacturing offer for aerospace here.

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company’s website.