The Future, R&D Initiative Civil Airframe: The DECSAM consortium with Airbus

Case study

The challenge:

While Laser Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF) additive manufacturing offers exceptional design flexibility, scaling it for high-volume civil aerospace production requires significant advancements. To achieve future cost-competitiveness for flight-ready engine parts, the aerospace sector must drastically increase printing productivity, lower component costs, and implement strict circular sustainability practices across the entire material supply chain.

 

The solution:

GKN Aerospace joined the Digitally Enabled Competitive & Sustainable Additive Manufacturing (DECSAM) project. Led by Airbus, this £38 million, four-year UK research and innovation initiative brings together a powerful consortium of 11 leading organizations across the manufacturing value chain.

The project, running through June 2028 and co-funded by Innovate UK, the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI), and the UK Department for Business and Trade—is establishing an integrated, digitally connected AM supply chain. As a premier Risk and Revenue Sharing Partner (RRSP) on leading aero-engines, GKN Aerospace is leveraging its positions to pioneer the next generation of cost-effective, sustainable powder bed additive technologies.

GKN Aerospace is actively leading critical work packages across DECSAM’s four core innovation pillars:

  • Performance: Leading the assessment and development of new material systems, part-based simulation methods, and physics-driven designs.
  • Productivity: Driving laser productivity studies, utilizing advanced beam shaping, high-power lasers, and advanced scan strategies.
  • Scalability: Coordinating end-to-end digital threads, in-situ process monitoring, closed-loop control, and advanced inspection software.
  • Application: Integrating these combined innovations into tangible ground and flight-test engine demonstrators to prove real-world cost-effectiveness.

The impact & planned outputs

The DECSAM project enables GKN Aerospace to drive the sector's transition toward net-zero manufacturing through concrete operational goals:

  • Circular material supply chains: GKN is validating recycled and repurposed powder routes, widening raw powder specifications to maximize resource efficiency and eliminate feedstock waste.
  • Compressed design loops: Integrating advanced multi-physics modeling and automated factory concepts drastically shortens design-build-test loops for future engine products [1].
  • Standardized qualification: Creating verified parameter sets and in-process monitoring frameworks provides clear, fast-track pathways to formal aerospace qualification and certification.
  • Enhanced UK technology base: The initiative positions GKN's UK operations to meet soaring commercial demand for sustainable, lightweight, and consolidated single-piece engine assemblies.