Case Study: U.S. Air Force keeps C-17 aircraft mission-ready with Stratasys 3D printing

U.S. Air Force cuts C-17 lavatory part costs by 88% with Stratasys

The U.S. Air Force faced a challenge maintaining its C-17 aircraft, as specific lavatory components were failing. These parts, exposed to harsh chemicals, were driving maintenance burdens and impacting aircraft readiness. The 911th and 60th Maintenance Squadrons needed a durable, repeatable replacement solution that could be produced at the point of need and validated through official engineering processes. They partnered with vendor Stratasys to find a solution.

Stratasys provided a solution using their F900 3D printers and materials like Antero 800NA to produce certified replacement parts. This approach resulted in an 88% cost reduction on one part, saving $8,800 per unit, and reduced production time from weeks to just 60 hours. The U.S. Air Force now has a governed, repeatable pathway to replace these components, with dozens of aircraft already flying with the 3D-printed parts. Stratasys enabled the reverse-engineering of an otherwise obsolete part, preserving mission capability and establishing a model to scale adoption across more aircraft.

U.S. Air Force