Additive repair moves from demonstration to approved process in Asian shops

Several Asian maintenance organisations have added additive repair to their approved process lists, covering cold-spray restoration of worn bearing housings and laser deposition on blade tips. The technology has existed for years; the approvals are the new part.

The commercial consequence is direct. A component that previously scrapped at a wear limit can now be restored within approved tolerances, which shifts material cost out of a shop visit.

The constraint is process qualification rather than equipment. Each repair scheme needs substantiation data tied to a specific part number, and building that library takes years of coordinated work with the design authority.

What to watch: the breadth of approved part numbers rather than the presence of a machine. A shop with two approved schemes has a demonstration; one with two hundred has a business.