Electric aircraft close to take-off

Drones take to the skies as aerospace sector targets diversification

Arecent Protolabs Aerospace report shows more than half of people believe commercial drone deliveries will be commonplace by 2023, as governments and firms find new ways to guarantee services.

COVID-19 has left an undeniable impression on the manufacturing world, as companies struggle to come to terms with what a ‘new normal’ will mean for people who make things.

With the uncertainty of Brexit still shrouding industry, the last thing firms needed was a global pandemic that ripped up the rule book when it came to supply chains and imposed previously unheard-of restrictions on how we trade.

It has also seen the very best of UK manufacturing. Businesses, who saw sales fall off a cliff overnight, have pivoted to transfer their expertise into supplying critical parts for ventilators and other frontline efforts, whilst others have explored new solutions to help satisfy the need to do things at a distance. According to a new European aerospace study, challenges posed by the pandemic are even accelerating the willingness to embrace drone technology and, encouragingly, the UK is leading the way.

The first findings of Protolabs’ Horizon Shift report, which involved 325 aerospace business leaders, highlighted an increased appetite for ‘low space’ innovation and more investment into the fasttrack testing of robots and drones.

More than half of the companies questioned (53 percent) believe commercial drone deliveries will be commonplace by 2023, as both the public and private sector seek safe ways to guarantee services whilst containing the spread of any viruses. 78 percent of companies questioned from the UK felt convinced that disruption, in the form of drones, represents aerospace’s best opportunity for growth in the future. This figure from the UK outperformed its peers in Italy (75 percent), France (64 percent) and Germany (57 percent).

“COVID-19 has brought huge disruption to the global economy, with the aerospace sector being among the hardest hit,” explained Bjoern Klaas, Vice President and Managing Director of Protolabs Europe.

“However, a crisis can act as a catalyst for further innovation, forcing organisations to seek alternative ways to survive in rapidly changing times. Our report shows that right now within aerospace, the ‘low space’ sector is demonstrating agility in its approach to innovation and there is a real appetite to see it work in the UK.

“In fact, the UKSA (the government agency responsible for the UK’s civil space

programme) recently announced a new drive to fund space-enabled technology to strengthen the NHS response to coronavirus. Drone technology can help meet challenges, such as delivering test kits, masks, gowns and goggles, in the management of infectious disease outbreaks.

“Commercial drone deliveries are the most likely disruptor, and this was reinforced across the duration of our study, which was carried out as the COVID-19 pandemic started to take grip. In just a few weeks, the appetite for this technology increased by 11 to 53 percent.”

Despite the positive outlook, there are a number of obstacles standing in the way of companies operating in low space.

Cost of initial investment over return on investment (ROI) is seen as the biggest challenge by a third of respondents and this is closely followed by technology integrations and issues caused by inflexible supply chains.

Detailed testing programmes and product development cycles are the main barriers to innovation, whilst risk management and an inability to learn from failures could also stifle progress.

More than a third of companies want investment in STEM education, improved international regulation/collaboration and increased government support.

Disruptive times

The Protolabs ‘Horizon Shift’ report was completed during March and April and involved 325 leading aerospace professionals from France, Germany, Italy and the UK. Respondents work across senior management, R&D, engineering design, technology and supply chain management, providing a comprehensive overview of the sector.

Disruption was a core theme throughout the survey, with 62 percent saying that disruptive technologies are making their companies more competitive.

Advances in technology will also unlock the value migration to new business models, including faster charging of lithium-ion batteries (59 percent), artificial intelligence (59 percent) and battery storage (58 percent).

Bjoern Klaas concluded: “We are operating at a time when the unimaginable is fast becoming reality and the aerospace sector and supply chain has to keep pace with this change in attitude. “There are real opportunities for suppliers to look at ways they can deliver parts that can be used in this transition, whilst exploring material applications that deliver the lightweight savings and optimum performance required.”

For further information and to download the initial findings, please visit

www.protolabs.co.uk

Further information

Protolabs helps aerospace customers to accelerate product development, reduce costs and optimise supply chains with technology-enabled 3D printing, CNC machining and injection moulding. Clients upload their 3D CAD drawings to www.protolabs.co.uk, where customised software reviews files and emails an interactive quote with pricing and design analysis. The company typically produces one to 50+ 3D printed parts in one to seven days, one to 200+ CNC machined parts in one to three days and 25 to 10,000+ injection moulded parts in one to 15 days.

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Plastic, extruded & die-cast. In-house mod services: • machining • printing • drilling • custom colours