Massivit3D launches RapidWings platform

Massivit launched RapidWings on June 24 as a new manufacturing platform aimed at aerospace and defense customers that need large composite tooling and structural parts faster than conventional methods allow. The Israel-based company said the platform is built around its Cast-In-Motion technology and is already operating in Israel while expanding in the United States and Europe. Massivit says the system is designed to supply on-demand tooling, airframe structures, wings, drone body parts and other composite components through a network of regional manufacturing partners. The pitch comes as aerospace and defense manufacturers look for shorter lead times, local production capacity and alternatives to slower metal and machinable-board tooling. ### What exactly is RapidWings selling to aerospace and defense manufacturers? RapidWings is not just a printer launch. Massivit describes it as a turnkey composite manufacturing platform that combines its printing technology with a network of joint manufacturing alliance partners and service centers that can produce tooling and parts on demand. The company says the offering covers molds, masters, mandrels, jigs, fixtures, prototype tooling and structural composite parts. (massivit3d.com) The RapidWings website says the platform is targeted at defense and aerospace programs that need custom airframes, wings, UAS body parts and subsystems. Massivit’s June 24 release said the platform was created to accelerate defense production lead times as demand rises across those sectors. (massivit3d.com) ### Why is the company focusing on tooling rather than only finished parts? Massivit’s June 24 release said the core bottleneck is often tooling, not only the final composite part. Tooling for aerospace and defense programs can take months to machine using metal or machinable-board methods, and those delays can hold up production lines for airframes, drones and other systems. (massivit3d.com) CompositesWorld, citing the company, reported that RapidWings is designed to compress tooling lead times from months to days. Massivit also said some processes that previously took about three months can now be completed in days, and that partners have reported up to 70% cost savings versus conventional tooling methods. ### How does RapidWings fit into the broader aerospace manufacturing push? (massivit3d.com) Massivit said the platform is being built as a global network of local production facilities, which the company describes as sovereign and on-demand. That matters in aerospace and defense because customers increasingly want manufacturing capacity closer to program sites and less exposure to long supply chains. (compositesworld.com) Digital Engineering reported that Massivit had seen defense manufacturing demand from buyers in Europe, the United States, Southeast Asia and India over the past year. The company’s framing is that additive tooling can help manufacturers respond faster to backlogs and urgent production requirements, especially for large composite structures. ### What has happened since the launch? (3dprintingindustry.com) Massivit said on July 7 that it had opened its first Europe-based service center in Barcelona to support RapidWings expansion. The company said the site will produce on-demand tooling for aerospace and defense manufacturers in Europe and is meant to reduce traditional tooling lead times from months to days. (digitalengineering247.com) The Barcelona site is the first concrete sign that RapidWings is being rolled out as an operating network rather than remaining a product announcement. Massivit said the center functions under its European entity and will support the platform’s end-to-end composite manufacturing model. ### What should readers watch next? (massivit3d.com) Massivit’s press page says RapidWings is “combat-proven in Israel” and is now expanding to the United States and Europe. The next milestones to watch are additional service centers, new joint manufacturing alliance partners and evidence that aerospace and defense customers are adopting the platform for production tooling and certified parts rather than only prototypes. Barcelona is now the named European foothold, and RapidWings’ own site says the platform is intended to deliver on-demand composite structures and tooling through that broader network. (massivit3d.com) Whether Massivit can add more regional sites and customer references will show how quickly the June 24 launch turns into a larger manufacturing footprint. (rapidwings.com) (massivit3d.com)