Ascent Aerospace has installed a large format additive manufacturing (LFAM) machine, which is now operational in Santa Ana, CA, co-located with the company's composite tooling shop, autoclave and clean room.

The technology is able to print large parts not viable with smaller printing processes, and enables the creation of complicated geometric parts that would be difficult to make using conventional processes. Printing speeds enable fast prototypes and multiple iterations of a design.

Ascent's investment in the machine was announced in the summer of 2019 to bring the advantages of additive manufacturing to the aerospace tooling sector. By leveraging its expertise in tooling to rapidly design and build additive solutions, Ascent says it will bring tools such as low-temperature layup moulds, masters, trimming/drilling fixtures, and vacuum holding fixtures to market faster than ever before.

The LFAM machine has an industry leading build area, providing customers in aerospace, automotive, maritime, energy and others the opportunity to benefit from large-scale printed composite tooling. By combining this technology with Ascent's in-house tooling expertise and heritage engineering capability, it will be possible to fabricate and deliver production-ready fixtures and molds with significantly reduced lead-times compared to traditional metallic tooling. The wide variety of materials that are compatible with the LFAM, such as ABS, Polycarbonate, Nylon, and PESU, will allow Ascent to create tailored solutions to meet customer needs and specifications.

Ascent Aerospace will be hosting a live webinar in the beginning of June as a virtual launch of the LFAM machine.