It's Official - Additive Manufacturing Can Cut An Aircraft's Weight by 7%

Eric Masanet, a junior professor at the Robert R McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science, says using 3D printed metal parts can reduce the weight of an aircraft by up to 7% to conserve fuel and cut back carbon emissions. A study done by Masanet and his colleagues at Northwestern University and the Argonne National Laboratory was funded by the US Department of Energy Advanced Manufacturing Office. That study was based on aircraft industry figures and used to analyze the effects of employing additive manufacturing and 3D printing to build lighter metal parts from cutting edge materials. You can read the whole story here: http://3dprint.com/71279/cut-aircraf...t-by-7-percent
http://3dprint.com/wp-content/upload...irbus-A380.jpg