3D-printing or more exactly laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) enables very interesting material creation scenarios due to its unique rapid solidification üropensities. Melting layerwise a powder feedstock in a selective localized manner generates net netshape bodies with unique microstructures. In particular the use of Scandium as a major alloying element for Al materials has proven to be extremely efficient when strength and ductility become of major concern. Historically, aerospace Al alloys are always challenged depending on their product applications with respect to strength and toughness because designers and stress specialists have to safeguard their product strength properties to achieve max. reliability. As LPBF refers to a classical welding process with powder as a filler material it was obvious that the well known “under-matching” of Al weld seams compared to high strength Al aerospace bulk would limit material the potential application of 3D-printed parts.

Due to its special metallurgy of Sc in Al and the idea to combine this peculiarity with the powder bed melting process it became possible to directly generate material which can offer the same or even better strength-ductility properties than known from incumbent 2xxx or 7xxx alloys.

The präsentation will give a summary about these developments executed at Airbus Central Research & Technology from its early trials around 2000 until now and what this will further mean for current and further applications. It will show how tailoring of material research based on lab trials still enables breakthrough capabilities in a time where deep & machine learning, big data and artificial intelligence seem to be the sole way forward to create something new.