Can Recycled Titanium 3D Printing Secure the UK’s Defense Supply Chain?

British defense leader QinetiQ has reached a milestone in “circular” defense manufacturing with the successful maiden flight of a 3D-printed structural component made from recycled titanium. The test, conducted by QinetiQ’s Flight Test Organisation at MOD Boscombe Down in Wiltshire, featured a 3D printed hinge mounted on a QinetiQ-owned A109S helicopter.

The aircraft is currently being developed for the world-renowned Empire Test Pilots’ School (ETPS). The printed part serves as a critical attachment point for an Air Data Boom: a high-precision external probe used to measure airspeed and angle of attack. In flight testing, the structural integrity of this hinge is significant. A failure could trigger severe aerodynamic vibrations or lead to the boom snapping, which would compromise the sensitive instrumentation data required for pilot training. Designed by QinetiQ and fabricated by Additive Manufacturing Solutions Limited (AMS Ltd.), the hinge was produced using titanium recycled from a decommissioned aircraft. This flight marks a significant step in proving that flight-critical hardware can be successfully salvaged from scrap and returned to the sky through additive processes.

The hinge is a flight-critical component. (Photo Credit: QinetiQ)

Why 3D Print the Hinge?

AMS Ltd. has a proprietary atomization process that creates powder out of recycled scrap metal. According to QinetiQ, this process acheives 97& efficiency and minimizes material loss. While it wasn’t revealed which powder bed fusion process specifically was used to create the hinge, AMS has in-house laser and electron beam powder bed fusion capabilities, so it was likely one of those processes. QinetiQ also reported that AMS’s manufacturing process uses 93.5% less CO2e compared to traditional supply chains.