Sintavia, LLC, a leading Tier One metal additive manufacturer, announced today that it had received internal approval to manufacture production parts for Honeywell Aerospace via the powder bed fusion process, representing the first company to do so. The approval covers all programs within Honeywell Aerospace.

"We have been working with Honeywell for over 18 months as part of their rigorous supplier qualification," said Brian R. Neff, Sintavia's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "We are grateful that all of our team's hard work has paid off, and are looking forward to demonstrating the many benefits of additive manufacturing within Honeywell's supply chain in the form of lower costs, shorter manufacturing times, and dramatic design improvements."

What makes additive manufacturing different from more traditional methods is the addition of material rather than its removal. By using additive processes, businesses benefit from shorter lead times, mass customization, greater complexity, less wasted material and greater energy efficiency. As additive manufacturing as a technology matures, it is expected that OEMs such as Honeywell will increasingly rely on the traditional Tier One risk/reward supply chain model to manage manufacturing costs.