3D printing, or additive manufacturing as it’s known in the industry, have revolutionized warfare, as seen in the current Ukraine Russia conflict.

The ability to mass-produce first-person view drones in the thousands has created a new battlefield, where traditional doctrines about armor and logistics have been changed forever.

Not only do the drones make attacking armies more vulnerable, additive manufacturing allows production to be extensively decentralized, making it much harder for adversaries to degrade production capability.

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Northrup Grumman subsidiary Scaled Composites have created a small single-pilot fighter jet, the Vanguard. It could be the 21st century version of the the 1960's F-5 Freedom Fighter:  low cost, but high-performance.

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The market for orbital launch services is considerable, but limited. Is the room for all the players?

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As software controlling everything from video games to jet airliners has become too complex to make completely error proof, the move to increasing flight automation continues to carry risk.

No one knows this more than Boeing, but the fundamental problem of systems that are too complex for humans to check means that safety may ultimately be handed over to artificial intelligence. First, for checking human generated code, then permitting the code itself, and finally, the piloting of the airplanes themselves. 

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There is plenty of talk in the mainstream media about the technical issues with the Boeing Starliner spacecraft, but the real engineering issue is not rooted in pressure vessels, valves or lines. It’s management.

Starliner has launched previously to the international Space Station uncrewed, so the capability for fully autonomous flight exists at Boeing. The current flight was configured for human piloting, so the obvious option for Williams and Wilmore, which is to bring them back with a SpaceX capsule, may become necessary if NASA and Boeing can’t reconfigure Starliner to work around the thruster issues.

The zero risk option? Fly the astronauts back by SpaceX, then fly Starliner back empty, fix the issues, and launch it again. If Starliner returns unharmed, the decision will look like an abundance of caution, but all concerned will come out looking good.

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Barnaby Wainfan designed a radically different lifting body light aircraft over 30 years ago, that exhibited superior performance in almost every metric: speed, lifting capacity, interior volume, stall performance and centre of gravity tolerance. It’s also cheap and easy to build.

His designs are much talked about at the annual Oshkosh fly in for aviation enthusiasts, yet major aircraft manufacturers seem to be allergic to his innovations.

Despite advantages in almost every metric relevant to light aircraft design, the industry appears wedded to conventional wings and fuselage design.

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Very few technologies in manufacturing have ever offered as much as 3D printing. Additive manufacturing is revolutionary in the way that computer numerical controlled machining was 50 years ago, and for some high-value industries, it’s a standard production tool.

But it’s been around for over 25 years in usable forms, and in the high-volume mass production consumer goods that we all use, additive manufacturing has yet to emerge as a production process.

Jim Anderson spoke with industry leader Glynn Fletcher, President of EOS North America at the 2024 RAPID/TCT additive show in the Los Angeles about the challenge and future of additive as a production technology.

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Before there were SUVs, there were station wagons, and millions of families loved the fake wood panelling, roof rack, but importantly, a comfortable ride with plenty of hauling capacity.

In the age before the SUV, this was a hotly contested market for the Detroit Three. Ford claimed to own this segment, and a major selling feature was their innovative two-way tailgate, which flipped down like a pickup truck, or could open like a car door, courtesy of a very clever hinge and latch arrangement.

And how did General Motors respond? With a system so clever and useful, that the gimmick laden tailgates of today’s SUV’s and light trucks don’t even come close.

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The dream of every space enthusiast everywhere has been that spaceships would be, Starliners - craft that you could climb into, buckle up, and fly into orbit, a little like the way we use jets and airports. Fuel the vehicle, light the engines and go.

This may happen someday, but not anytime soon.

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The invention of gigantic diecasting machines has made it possible for Tesla to cast front and rear subframe assemblies as a single unit. But the predicted move to a single large diecast chassis for the upcoming small vehicle project appears to have been abandoned, according to a recent Reuters report. While technically possible, there are serious engineering questions about the practicality of a one-piece diecast chassis.

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Want to watch this podcast as a video? End of the Line is available on engineering.com TV along with all of our other shows such as This Week in Engineering, Designing the Future, and, Manufacturing the Future.