D-J Engineering Switches to Thermwood 3D-Printed Tooling for Aerospace Parts

From welded metal to printed layers

Aerospace and defense tooling shop D-J Engineering has started replacing welded metal stretch form blocks and mill fixtures with Thermwood large-scale additive manufacturing printed tooling. The change cuts lead times from months to weeks on complex assemblies.

The Thermwood LSAM process

Thermwood's LSAM system prints large, high-temperature thermoplastic tooling in a single build. For D-J, the switch removed a bottleneck in programs where schedules are negotiated by the week. Tyler Hieber, Engineering Manager at D-J, noted one complex formed skin assembly that would have taken months conventionally can now be produced much faster.

Customer service counts

Lucy Meadows, D-J's Tooling Planner, highlighted why the partnership works beyond the hardware. "Working with Thermwood has always been just A-1 customer service. They don't just make the product. They go out there and they use the product. They know what they are talking about."

What's next

D-J is already evaluating LSAM for composite layup tools and master molds. If early results hold, printed tooling could become standard across its aerospace and defense work.