Fabrication Sales Engineer

3D-Printed drone parts head toward a $900 million market by 2034. By / October 2, 2026 Additive Manufacturing finds its footing in drones. Additive manufacturing has moved from an experimental curiosity to a production tool in the unmanned aerial systems industry. A flagship 2026 study from AM Research, Additive Manufacturing Opportunities in Unmanned Aerial Systems 2026, estimates that 3D printing in drones reached approximately USD 140 million in 2025 and could grow to nearly USD 900 million by 2034. The report tracks adoption across drone hardware, materials, and services, and breaks the market down by application, geography, and vendor - evidence that the technology is now being measured with the same rigor as any established manufacturing process. The growth is driven by two hard advantages. First, 3D printing compresses iteration time: a designer can print, test, and revise a frame or bracket in a single day rather than waiting weeks for injection-mold tooling. Second, it unlocks geometries that molding cannot produce. Lattice and skeletal structures - parts that look almost organic and are deliberately hollowed out to save weight - can be printed but not molded, letting drone makers strip mass from internal components without sacrificing strength. Hybrid frames are the practical 2026 standard. Industry consensus in 2026 is that the most successful printed frames are hybrids. The body, camera cage, and other complex enclosures are 3D printed, while the load-bearing arms remain off-the-shelf carbon fiber. This pairing captures the best of both worlds: printed parts absorb the design complexity and the frequent revisions, while carbon fiber arms carry the structural and crash loads that printed polymers handle poorly. Fully printed frames, by contrast, still struggle in real-world durability - as one community discussion noted bluntly, a fully FDM-printed drone rarely survives a hard crash. The material palette is maturing alongside the hardware. Engineering thermoplastics and fiber-reinforced filaments now give printed drone parts better stiffness and temperature resistance, while metal additive manufacturing - laser powder bed fusion and related processes - is used selectively for brackets, heat sinks, and small structural fittings where polymers would deform. Real programs are scaling up. Concrete deployments are starting to accumulate. HP Additive Manufacturing has positioned industrial 3D printing for UAV component production, prototyping, and scalable drone manufacturing, and the technology has been applied to practical field missions - including a 3D-printed drone supporting wildlife protection and anti-poaching efforts in Africa, where the ability to print replacement parts locally shortens the supply chain that field operations depend on. Partnerships are also forming across the ecosystem. Shapeways and Quantum Systems have collaborated on high-performing 3D-printed drone parts, and at Drone Expo 2026, Phillips Additive showcased the path from rapid prototyping to production-ready components. Meanwhile ABCorp 3D, a manufacturer with the equipment to scale drone production, is positioning itself to meet rising demand as more programs move past prototyping. What 2026 signals for manufacturers. The RAPID + TCT event, North America's largest additive manufacturing gathering, is devoting attention to drone manufacturing this year, with sessions focused on how companies can move from one-off prints to repeatable production. The central theme is the shift from designing parts that happen to be printed, to designing parts specifically for printing - a distinction that determines whether additive manufacturing actually pays off. For factory teams building industrial UAVs, the message is clear: treat 3D printing as a production process with its own design rules, not as a drop-in replacement for molding. Printed bodies and cages over carbon fiber arms, lattice internal structures, and locally printable spares are the patterns that are already working. As the market climbs toward that USD 900 million figure, the manufacturers who internalize those patterns first will capture the margin that comes from lighter, faster-to-iterate airframes.

Phillips Corporation is opening a $2 million training center in Portsmouth - here's why that matters for Hampton Roads real estate. Phillips Corporation is launching a new $2 million workforce training center in Portsmouth this fall, focused on industrial maintenance and mechatronics skills. For buyers and investors watching the Southside, this kind of employer investment signals sustained demand for housing near the region's defense and shipbuilding corridor. Watch the Video Phillips Corporation is opening a $2 million hands-on training center in Portsmouth, Virginia this fall through its new workforce development division, Phillips Workforce. The center targets the shortage of skilled industrial maintenance and mechatronics technicians across Hampton Roads, and that kind of employer commitment has real implications for housing demand on the Southside. What the Phillips Corporation Portsmouth Virginia training center actually does. Phillips Corporation, a national provider of manufacturing technology solutions, created Phillips Workforce to give employers a faster path to trained technicians. The training is accelerated, production-focused, and built around what employers in shipbuilding, defense, and manufacturing actually need on the floor. The center is specifically designed to serve Hampton Roads employers who have struggled to find qualified candidates in a tight labor market. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has documented steady demand growth for industrial and mechanical maintenance workers nationally, and Hampton Roads sits at the center of one of the largest defense and shipbuilding corridors in the country. A $2 million private investment to build a pipeline of trained workers here tells you something about where employer confidence sits right now. Why this matters for Portsmouth and the broader Southside. Workforce investment and housing demand move together. When employers build training infrastructure, they are planning for years of hiring. That means workers relocating to the region, workers earning higher wages, and workers looking for places to live in Portsmouth and neighboring cities like Norfolk and Chesapeake. Portsmouth has been undergoing noticeable commercial and residential reinvestment over the past several years. The Phillips Corporation Portsmouth Virginia training center adds another data point to that pattern. For anyone watching the Southside market, this is the kind of development that supports price stability and long-term demand. Homeowners in Portsmouth who have built equity may want to understand what their property is worth in this environment. Find out what your home is worth For buyers, proximity to workforce training and defense employment centers is a factor worth weighing. Properties near stable, growing employment hubs tend to hold value better through market cycles. What this means for you. - Portsmouth and the surrounding Southside cities sit close to the shipbuilding and defense employers the Phillips Workforce center is designed to serve, which supports ongoing housing demand in those areas. - Investors looking at rental properties near industrial employment corridors should note that accelerated training programs create a steady stream of working residents who need housing. - Buyers considering Portsmouth or Norfolk can treat this investment as a signal of employer confidence in the region's long-term workforce needs. - If you own in Portsmouth and have been thinking about selling, this is a reasonable time to understand your current market position. Find out what your home is worth I have been selling homes in Hampton Roads for over 20 years, and the developments that consistently move markets are the ones tied to jobs and wages. The Phillips Corporation Portsmouth Virginia training center is worth paying attention to. It is not a flash-in-the-pan announcement. It is a $2 million bet that skilled workers will be in demand here for years to come, and that has direct implications for where people live and what those homes are worth. If you want to dig deeper into what is happening across the Southside market, the Legacy Home Search blog covers economic development, market trends, and neighborhood-level data on a regular basis. Frequently asked questions. What is the Phillips Corporation Portsmouth Virginia training center and when does it open? Phillips Corporation is launching a $2 million industrial maintenance and mechatronics training center in Portsmouth, Virginia through its new division, Phillips Workforce. The center is scheduled to open in fall 2026 and is designed to provide accelerated, hands-on training for skilled technicians in Hampton Roads. How does a workforce training center affect home values in Portsmouth? Workforce training centers attract workers, support local hiring, and signal employer confidence in a region. When employers invest in developing local talent, they are committing to sustained hiring, which increases housing demand in nearby communities. Over time, stable employment demand tends to support property values in surrounding neighborhoods. Should I buy or invest in Portsmouth given the Phillips Corporation announcement? The Phillips Workforce center is one indicator among many, and no single development drives a purchase decision on its own. That said, it does reinforce a pattern of investment in Portsmouth's workforce and economy. Buyers and investors should review comparable sales, rental data, and proximity to major employers before making a decision, and a local agent familiar with the Southside market can help you put the full picture together.