How ST Engineering MRAS is applying adaptable tooling strategies to accelerate development, address manufacturing challenges and support evolving aerospace programmes.
Aerospace development programmes increasingly demand faster response times, greater manufacturing flexibility and the ability to adapt as designs evolve. For manufacturers, this creates a challenge: how can development tooling be produced quickly enough to support engineering decisions without compromising the technical requirements of the application?
At CAMX 2026, Joshua Ma, Manufacturing Development Engineer at ST Engineering MRAS, explored how flexible tooling strategies can help address this challenge. Drawing on practical experience across more than 100 unique part developments, Ma demonstrated how selecting tooling around the immediate objectives of a development programme can accelerate learning, improve responsiveness and support more effective manufacturing decisions.
The Changing Demands of Aerospace Development
Traditional aerospace manufacturing environments are typically structured around established production programmes, where repeatability, quality and consistent output are essential. Development programmes often operate differently, particularly when emerging aerospace businesses and established manufacturers introducing new technologies require a series of prototypes, rapid design iterations or small quantities of components before progressing towards production.
Requirements can change significantly during development, sometimes making previously manufactured tooling unsuitable. At the same time, traditional aerospace tooling can involve extended lead times, multiple design reviews and significant external coordination. For a development programme working towards a critical design decision, waiting several months for production-level tooling may not be practical, making it essential to determine what tooling is actually required to support the next stage of development.
Matching Tooling to the Development Objective
At ST Engineering MRAS, the approach begins by establishing the purpose of the tool. Whether the objective is to investigate material drapability, evaluate an assembly configuration, manufacture a prototype or assess dimensional accuracy, each application introduces different requirements for geometry, tolerances, temperature resistance, durability and reusability.
Understanding these requirements enables engineers to select an approach that provides the necessary information without introducing unnecessary complexity. Three development projects discussed at CAMX demonstrate how this philosophy has been applied in practice.
Case Study 1: Evaluating Composite Drapability within Two Days
In the first example, a customer needed to establish whether composite material could be laid up successfully over a complex, compound-contoured surface. The assessment was required within two days to inform an approaching design decision, so rather than manufacturing a conventional production tool, MRAS used the supplied CAD geometry to create a representative layup surface using a desktop 3D printer.
The tool was manufactured from PLA in less than a day, enabling engineers to conduct a physical material drapability study. Because the objective was to evaluate layup characteristics rather than produce a cured component, the tool did not require high-temperature performance. The approach allowed the engineering team to examine material behaviour directly and identify potential manufacturability challenges before the design was finalised, while also demonstrating the value of combining digital engineering tools with practical physical evaluation.
Case Study 2: Supporting Wing Flap Assembly Development
A second project involved evaluating alternative assembly configurations for an aerospace wing flap. The customer needed to understand how components could be manufactured and assembled within a three-week development window, so MRAS combined 3D-printed master patterns with composite splash tooling, supported by additional printed trimming and layup templates.
Approximately half a dozen tools were produced within a couple of weeks to support the evaluation. The tooling needed to provide representative geometry and sufficient reusability to investigate different assembly arrangements, but the programme did not require every tool to meet the precision or durability standards associated with long-term production tooling. By selecting a combination of manufacturing methods, MRAS was able to support the development process while retaining flexibility as assembly strategies were assessed.
Case study 3: Managing Geometric Distortion in a High Aspect Ratio Beam
Not every development programme can prioritise speed to the same extent. In a third example, MRAS investigated the manufacture of a high aspect ratio composite beam where tight tolerances and geometric distortion were significant considerations. The project required an approach capable of managing thermal expansion and supporting representative dimensional accuracy.
MRAS selected a multi-piece machined aluminium master, which was used to produce a composite splash tool. This approach involved a longer tooling lead time than the earlier examples, but provided a more appropriate solution for the technical requirements. The project demonstrated the importance of balancing development speed against manufacturing accuracy, rather than assuming that the fastest tooling method is always the most effective.
Combining Manufacturing Processes and Capabilities
The different projects highlight the value of having access to multiple tooling methods. Depending on the application, MRAS considers approaches including fused deposition modelling (FDM) 3D printing, large-scale additive manufacturing, direct machined tooling and composite splash tooling, each offering different advantages according to the technical requirements.
Desktop additive manufacturing can provide rapid access to representative geometries for layup studies and assist tools, while higher-temperature printable materials can support certain direct-cure applications. Machined tooling can offer tighter dimensional control for smaller, complex components, while composite splash tooling can provide useful thermal characteristics for applications requiring greater accuracy during curing. Large-scale additive manufacturing introduces further possibilities for larger structures and master patterns.
The selection process considers these technical factors alongside practical constraints such as equipment availability, skilled personnel, lead times and customer requirements.
The Importance of an Adaptable Supply Chain
Manufacturing flexibility also depends on how resources are organised. In a production-focused aerospace facility, development activities often compete with established manufacturing programmes for access to equipment and skilled personnel, making it important to identify how internal and external resources can be used most effectively.
MRAS addresses this challenge by combining internal capabilities with external resources where appropriate. Local suppliers, specialist machining services, additive manufacturing providers and commercially available materials can all contribute to development tooling solutions. Rather than outsourcing every stage of a tooling project, individual activities can be managed through the resources best suited to their requirements, allowing manufacturing teams to retain control over critical development decisions while drawing on external capabilities to improve responsiveness.
Accelerating Development Through Manufacturing Insight
The central lesson from these projects is that effective development tooling does not necessarily mean creating a production-ready tool at the earliest opportunity. Instead, it means understanding what each stage of development needs to achieve and selecting a proportionate manufacturing approach.
For customers developing new aerospace structures, early access to manufacturing expertise can help identify design challenges, evaluate alternative configurations and avoid decisions that may create difficulties later in production. By combining engineering experience, adaptable tooling methods and responsive supply chain arrangements, ST Engineering MRAS is developing approaches that support faster learning and more informed manufacturing decisions.
As aerospace programmes continue to evolve, the ability to respond quickly while retaining engineering discipline will remain an important part of successful product development.
