Based in Texas, the Sheppard Air Force Base hosts a Trainer Development Flight (TDF) facility that designs, develops and manufacturers training aids and trainers for the United States Air Force and all branches of the Department of Defense. Printed parts are used in a variety of ways such as training environments, avionics, weapons and fuel systems, medical readiness, HVAC, and telecommunications systems.
With traditional methods, sacrificial tooling is produced as part of a multi-step process which can result in time-consuming and expensive production cycles. Composite materials have become increasingly important for manufacturing applications they are able to deliver high performance without the weight associated with metal materials.