Northwest Aerospace News February | March Issue No. 13 | Page 76

HELPING SME s PREPARE FOR THE NE x T GENERATION OF
AEROSPACE MANUFACTURING
BY BRIAN CANFIELD, PNAA CEO/Executive Director
Change is accelerating in nearly every aspect of the world. Aerospace is no exception and in
the past few years, aerospace has exploded into many new segments, extending beyond the
traditional confines of commercial and defense aerospace. Just over a year ago, PNAA created
a new program called New and Expanding Technologies, or NExT. PNAA’s goal was to educate
the traditional aerospace supply base on the up-and-coming aerospace manufacturing segments
and the ways in which they operate differently. These segments include autonomous aerial
vehicles, space, electric flight, urban air mobility and super/hypersonic. They are more than just
new segments though; these rising categories are using advanced materials and technologies
that allow them to be nimble, innovative and bring products to market at an accelerated rate.
Many of them operate more like a tech company than a traditional aerospace company.
As these companies transition from idea state to production state, they will
need SMEs who can support their production and educate them on production
requirements, creating robust engineering design for product manufacturing.
The other opportunity was to connect the early maturity
new segment companies with their future manufacturing
partners. As these companies transition from idea state
to production state, they will need SMEs who can support
their production and educate them on production
requirements, creating robust engineering design for
product manufacturing. This important outreach action
of bridging of the steadfast companies with the upcoming
aerospace groups builds an even stronger and unified
aerospace manufacturing ecosystem.
Since NExT was launched, PNAA’s quarterly symposiums
have captivated the interest of different aerospace
manufacturing and support communities. The kickoff event
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NORTHWEST AEROSPACE NEWS
featured key speakers from urban air mobility, electric
propulsion, space and commerce, who discussed the
future of aerospace manufacturing and what passengers
can expect air travel to look like in the future. Additional
symposiums focused on the tools and methods of additive
manufacturing, robotics, IoT and digital factory. Each
symposium featured speakers from industry-leading
companies and local manufacturing companies sharing
their experiences on integrating new technology.
Look for our quarterly NExT events in 2020, where we will
explore the emerging industry sectors and how you can
support aerospace manufacturing in the NExT generation
of aerospace.
PNAA ADVANCE / 2020