GKN Aerospace engineering and manufacturing crew with the 3D-printed fan case mount ring component of Pratt & Whitney GTF engines.
GKN Aerospace
GKN Aerospace is expanding its Newington, Conn., facility to shift production for its groundbreaking, 3D-printed jet engine component.
At the heart of the expansion is the Fan Case Mount Ring, an intricate, high-strength part that’s the backbone to the Pratt & Whitney GTF engines found in of some of the world’s most advanced passenger jets, including the Airbus A220 and Embraer E195-E2. Currently, the parts are 3D printed in Sweden and machine finished in the U.S.
The existing U.S. facility will support full serial production of the parts by the end of this year, with the expanded additive operations expected to begin in 2027, according to GKN. Shifting full production to the U.S. “will also help to strengthen global supply chains, by offering an alternative production method,” the company says.
GKN received funds through the state’s $25 million Strategic Supply Chain Initiative.
Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont speaking a the groundbreaking of the GKN Aerospace facility expansion in Newington, Conn.
GKN Aerospace
The ring is the largest flight-critical component made with 3D printing—or additive manufacturing—to ever receive FAA certification. Instead of carving a part from a large block of metal and wasting the excess, GKN’s proprietary process builds the part layer.
GKN Aerospace expects its proprietary metal 3D printing process, once in full production, to slash material consumption by 70% compared to traditional manufacturing, while reducing end-to-end lead times from nine months to as little as four weeks.
“This expansion in Connecticut marks a major milestone for GKN Aerospace and our Fan Case Mount Ring program,” says Joakim Andersson, president of GKN Aerospace’s Engines division. “With the FCMR program at industrial scale, we are proving not just the technical capabilities of additive fabrication, but its real-world impact on sustainability, lead time and cost as well as bringing predictability to our supply chain.”
A Full-Scale Industrial Pivot
After successfully delivering the first unit at the start of 2024, production accelerated dramatically, hitting the 200-unit milestone just a few months ago.
For Andersson, the choice to scale up in Connecticut was a deliberate one. “The combination of strong local support, the highly skilled workforce and the availability of an aerospace network and infrastructure here allows us to bring our latest additive fabrication technology into industrial-scale production,” he notes. The move is creating new jobs and strengthening the company’s long-standing relationship with its partner and customer, engine giant Pratt & Whitney.
From Swedish Tech to an American Hub
Fan Case Mount Rings are finished and inspected in GKN Aerospace’s Conn. facility.
GKN Aerospace
This ramp-up follows GKN Aerospace’s $50 million investment in 2024 to expand its additive fabrication capability, focused on increasing capacity and accelerating industrial application across civil and military engine platforms. Due to the modular nature of the additive fabrication production concept, GNK says it can rapidly deploy the technology to other sites globally.
The proprietary 3D printing technology, initially developed at GKN’s facility in Trollhättan, Sweden, is now being industrialized in the U.S. “Expanding our cutting-edge technology… to the US will support the full volume of FCMR production in one place,” says Sébastien Aknouche, the company’s SVP of Material Solutions. He adds that this American hub will also enable GKN “to expand our additive fabrication offering to other customers in the U.S.A.”