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Aerospace Applications

Aerospace Ducting Manufacturing

ADDMAN manufactures complex, lightweight aerospace ducting for commercial, defense, and space applications. From environmental control systems (ECS) and avionics cooling to air intake and airflow management, we combine advanced polymer and metal manufacturing capabilities to produce aircraft ducting systems engineered for demanding operating environments, complex geometries, and stringent performance requirements.

Aerospace & Aircraft Ducting Applications

ADDMAN supports complex ducting and airflow components across a range of aerospace and aircraft systems, including:

Environmental control system (ECS) ducting
Avionics cooling ducts
Air intake ducts
Air distribution and ventilation ducts
Complex duct transitions and connectors
Airflow manifolds
Equipment cooling ducts
Replacement and sustainment ducting

HexPEKK® For Aerospace Ducting

For aerospace ducting systems where weight, thermal performance, complex geometry, and qualification requirements converge, HexPEKK® offers a high-performance alternative to traditionally manufactured assemblies.

Exclusive to ADDMAN, HexPEKK® combines PEKK with carbon fiber reinforcement and SLS additive manufacturing to produce lightweight, complex components without traditional tooling. For ducting applications, additive design freedom can enable intricate airflow pathways and consolidate multi-piece assemblies into monolithic components, reducing assembly complexity while meeting demanding thermal and chemical environments.

Ducting manufactured from HexPEKK-100

Built for Flight-Critical Requirements

Carbon fiber-reinforced PEKK with high strength-to-weight performance
Thermal and chemical resistance for demanding operating environments
Complex, integrated duct geometries enabled by SLS additive manufacturing
NIAR NCAMP qualification data with published B-basis design allowables
Proven on production aerospace programs

See the Data Behind HexPEKK®

Hear from ADDMAN and the National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) about HexPEKK® performance, aerospace qualification, B-basis allowables, and real-world applications.

Additive Manufacturing for Aerospace Ducting

Aerospace ducting often has to fit within tight packaging constraints while maintaining efficient airflow, minimizing weight, and meeting demanding performance requirements. Additive manufacturing gives engineers greater freedom to design around those constraints without relying on the tooling, joints, and assembly steps required by many traditional manufacturing methods.

Using the ADDCAAM software to aid in the design of additive manufactured parts For aircraft ducting systems, additive manufacturing can enable:

  • Complex curved and contoured geometries
  • Integrated transitions, manifolds, and connection features
  • Part consolidation to reduce joints and assembly
  • Lightweight structures optimized for available space
  • Toolless production for low-volume and replacement components
  • Faster design iteration during development and qualification

By selecting the appropriate polymer or metal additive process, ADDMAN can support ducting applications from prototype development through qualified production and sustainment.

Polymer or Metal? Choosing the Right Approach for Aerospace Ducting

Aerospace ducting requirements vary widely based on operating temperature, pressure, weight targets, chemical exposure, mechanical loads, and certification requirements. ADDMAN’s polymer and metal additive manufacturing capabilities allow the manufacturing approach to be matched to the application rather than forcing the application into a single process.

Polymer Aerospace Ducting

High-performance polymers can provide significant weight advantages while enabling complex, thin-walled duct geometries without traditional tooling. Processes including SLS and FDM® support applications ranging from development hardware to production aerospace components, with materials selected according to the specific operating environment.

Polymer additive manufacturing is particularly well suited for applications where lightweighting, complex routing, thermal performance, and low-to-moderate production volumes are key considerations.

Metal Aerospace Ducting

Metal additive manufacturing expands those design advantages into applications with more demanding temperature, pressure, mechanical, or environmental requirements. Complex duct geometries can be produced as consolidated components, reducing the need to fabricate, join, and assemble multiple individual pieces.

With metal additive manufacturing and in-house precision machining capabilities, ADDMAN can produce complex ducting while machining critical interfaces, mounting features, and mating surfaces to final requirements.

Materials for Aerospace Ducting

Material selection for aerospace ducting depends on the operating environment and performance requirements of the system. Temperature, pressure, chemical exposure, weight, mechanical loads, flammability requirements, and qualification needs can all influence the appropriate material and manufacturing process.

ADDMAN supports a range of high-performance polymers and metals for aerospace ducting applications, including:

High-Performance Polymers

  • HexPEKK®
  • PEI (ULTEM™)
  • Engineering nylons
  • Carbon fiber-reinforced thermoplastics

Metals

Our engineering teams work with customers to evaluate material, process, geometry, and end-use requirements together—helping identify a manufacturing approach suited to the complete application rather than selecting a material in isolation.

Proven Performance in Aerospace Ducting

When a customer needed to improve the performance of an aerospace air-intake duct previously produced with MJF (Muli Jet Fusion™), ADDMAN applied its ADDCAAM™ process to optimize the component for FDM (Fused Deposition Modeling®) production.

The result was a stronger, less porous duct produced at a lower cost—demonstrating how process optimization can extend the capabilities of polymer additive manufacturing for demanding aerospace applications.

15%
LOWER COST
Compared with the previous manufacturing method
70%
GREATER STRENGTH
Improved mechanical performance
100×
LOWER POROSITY
For improved duct performance

Using ADDCAAM™, ADDMAN controls the deposition and orientation of material throughout the build to improve mechanical properties and reduce porosity beyond conventional FDM processing.


 

From Design Through Production

ADDMAN supports aerospace ducting from early design and material selection through production, finishing, inspection, and qualification. Our integrated polymer additive, metal additive, and precision manufacturing capabilities allow our teams to solve for the complete component—not just the printing process.

Whether developing a new ducting system, consolidating an existing assembly, or supporting a difficult-to-source component, we can help identify the right material, process, and production strategy for the application.

Get Precision, High Quality Parts