Rapid Precision Castings pushes earlier planning for legacy aerospace parts

DDM Systems | Rapid Precision Castings is urging aerospace OEMs, MROs, defense programs and fleet-support teams to review at-risk castings before tooling loss or inventory shortages trigger aircraft-on-ground problems. The Atlanta digital foundry says its tooling-free ceramic mold process can help recover legacy parts when traditional wax-pattern tooling is unavailable.

Why it matters: - Aerospace sustainment teams can face expensive delays when a legacy casting fails and the original tooling, supplier or records are gone. - Earlier review can help identify whether a part can be recovered through additive mold production before the need turns into an AOG event. - The issue affects civil aviation, defense programs and fleet-support operations that depend on spare-parts availability.

What happened: - DDM Systems | Rapid Precision Castings is urging OEMs, MROs, defense programs and fleet-support organizations to evaluate at-risk cast components before inventory depletion or supplier loss creates a sourcing emergency. - The recommendation comes after Safran reported that civil-engine spare-parts sales rose 27.9% in U.S. dollar terms in the first half of 2026. - RTX separately said Pratt & Whitney received a nearly $1.3 billion undefinitized IDIQ contract for fiscal-year 2026 F135 initial spare parts, deployable spare packages, depot lay-ins and related support equipment. - The company cites those announcements as industry context for continued demand for spare-parts support across civil and military aviation.

The details: - Legacy casting risk often starts when wax-pattern tooling is lost, damaged or retired. - The risk also rises when the original casting supplier exits, support ends or volumes are too small to justify new hard tooling. - Other triggers include high tooling cost, long lead times, incomplete CAD files, missing drawings or incomplete process records. - DDM Systems says it evaluates whether a component can be produced with LAMP™, its patented ceramic additive-manufacturing process. - LAMP™ produces ready-to-pour investment-casting molds with integrated cores directly from controlled digital geometry. - For finished metal parts, the DirectPour™ workflow covers the path from customer CAD and alloy requirements through casting, inspection and delivery. - DDM Systems says an initial legacy-part review considers part number, nomenclature, revision, CAD files, drawings, alloy, heat treatment, casting specifications, quantities, delivery schedule, critical dimensions, acceptance criteria, nondestructive examination requirements, material certification, inventory, tooling, supplier status and source-approval responsibilities. - DDM Systems can then assess whether the job needs a directly printed LAMP™ ceramic mold, a DirectPour™ finished-casting scope or additional technical data before feasibility can be established.

Between the lines: - The pitch is less about replacing certification and more about removing one common barrier: recreating obsolete tooling when the part itself may still be recoverable. - The company draws a line between mold production and airworthiness approval, which remains with the responsible design-authority and source-approval organizations. - That distinction matters because additive mold printing may shorten recovery time, but it does not eliminate qualification, traceability or first-article requirements.

What's next: - DDM Systems is asking aerospace OEMs, Tier suppliers, MROs, government program offices and fleet-support teams to submit individual components or groups of at-risk part numbers for review. - The company is also directing urgent cases to its AOG casting support path and broader aircraft sustainment support pages. - The company says missing technical data may still require development before casting feasibility is confirmed.

The bottom line: - DDM Systems is positioning tooling-free ceramic mold printing as a faster recovery path for legacy aerospace castings when conventional tooling and supplier continuity are no longer available.