Lufthansa Technik Replaced a Break-Prone Aircraft Latch With a 3D-Printed Titanium One

Why a Small Latch Became a Big Problem

Roller shutters on Airbus A330, A340, and A380 aircraft hide a surprisingly fragile part. The small polymer latch that holds the roller brake and endcap in place wears out in service, and when it breaks the original supplier will not sell it on its own. That forced Lufthansa Technik to replace the entire roller shutter assembly every time, an expensive fix for a single failed component.

Redesigning for Metal 3D Printing

Rather than simply reproduce the polymer part in titanium, Lufthansa Technik's additive manufacturing team redesigned the latch specifically for laser powder bed fusion. The geometry, wall thickness, and elastic response were all tuned to match the behavior of Ti6Al4V while keeping the same function. Project engineer David Rudolz said the original injection-molded part was an ideal candidate for metal additive manufacturing because of its complex shape.

Lufthansa Technik holds EASA Part 21.G and 21.J certification, so it can design, manufacture, and certify flight-ready parts in-house. For production it turned to Materialise and its Metal Competence Center, which passed a supplier audit and now qualifies as an official workbench for Lufthansa Technik metal parts.

The Result: A Repair, Not a Replacement

The titanium latch is now installed on in-service aircraft. Its expected service life is much longer than the polymer version, and because the part can be replaced individually, Lufthansa Technik can repair the roller shutter assembly instead of scrapping it. That cuts both cost and downtime.

The project is a neat example of where aerospace MRO is heading. When an OEM stops supplying a standalone spare, or never offered one, 3D printing lets maintenance providers keep aging assemblies in the air without writing a four-figure check for a whole new unit.