RTX's Pratt & Whitney develops additive manufacturing to reduce engine repair time

RTX said on Tuesday its engine making subsidiary Pratt & Whitney has developed an additive manufacturing repair process for its geared turbofan (GTF) engine components, which would reduce process time by more than 60%.

The unit is currently navigating an issue with the GTF engines and is conducting an inspection drive for potentially flawed components, which has led to the grounding of hundreds of planes in recent months.

Kevin Kirkpatrick, vice president of aftermarket operations at Pratt & Whitney, said the additive repair process would help improve turnaround time and bring down tooling costs. "At the same time, it reduces our dependency on current material supply constraints."


The unit expects to recover $100 million worth of parts over five years through additive manufacturing implementation in its entire maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) process.

RTX, which is set to report results on April 22, has said it expects compensation impacts from the GTF engine issue to be between $1.1 billion and $1.3 billion for 2025.

Separately, the company announced agreements with MTU Aero Engines and Delta Tech Ops to increase capacity in its MRO services. (Reporting by Utkarsh Shetti in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)