The National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (NCDMM) and America Makes have announced the winners of the $5.75 million Proliferation of Additively Manufactured (AM) Material Datasets project.
In alliance with the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense, Research and Engineering Manufacturing Technology Office (OSD(R&E)), and the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), the project sets out to broaden material utilization beyond Ti-6Al-4V. Its overarching goal is to hasten the development of robust, statistically based, and industrially relevant AM material datasets.
“The awardees will be advancing our domestic manufacturing capability with the development and delivery of these material datasets. Aluminum and nickel-based alloys are pivotal in lightweight design and elevated temperature applications across the aerospace, automotive, defense, and energy sectors,” says Brandon Ribic, Technology Director at America Makes.
The America Makes building in Youngstown, Ohio. Photo via America Makes.
New data infrastructure for additive manufacturing of aluminum and nickel alloys
Under Topic 1, the Aluminum Alloy Material Dataset, Elementum 3D, leads the Generation of Design Allowable Datasets for A7050-Ram based on MMPDS C/D-Basis Guidelines. The diverse project team includes Battelle, Castheon, Dyndrite Corporation, Eaton Corporation, EOS North America, Incodema, National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR), Product Evaluation Systems, The Ohio State University Center for Design and Manufacturing Excellence, and Westmoreland Mechanical Testing and Research.
For Topic 2, focusing on High-Temperature Nickel-Based Superalloys, the Electric Power Research Institute takes the lead in the Proliferation of Nickel Superalloy Material Datasets for Powder Bed Fusion Additive Manufacturing. Team members included Alloyed, Citrine Informatics, Product Evaluation Systems, Siemens Energy, Boeing, and Barnes Global Advisors.
Additionally, funds have been allocated to Wichita State University NIAR and Penn State University Applied Research Laboratory (PSU-ARL) for data review, documentation, and strategic data management development. Throughout the execution phase of the program, project teams will provide updates on their progress at events such as the America Makes Technical Review and Exchange, fostering transparency and collaboration within the additive manufacturing community.
“The rigor necessary to generate such pedigreed, statistically based material data is incredibly demanding. The outcomes of these efforts will be a substantial contribution to the AM design community. Furthermore, such collaborations are a tremendous benefit to small and medium-sized organizations as they drastically improve our knowledge base, domestic manufacturing competency, and can significantly reduce barriers to entry. We are so thrilled for this opportunity for collective learning and to serve the nation’s supply chain agility and resiliency needs,” added Ribic.
Facilitating AM advancements and sustainability efforts via new project wins
Earlier this month, America Makes, NCDMM, and AFRL disclosed winners of the $1.2 million Open Project Call, funded by OSD(R&E). Raytheon’s RTX Technology Research Center and Velo3D lead Topic 1 with “Inspection Using In-Situ Height Mapping Data,” aiming to enhance dimensional inspection of internal features.
Topic 2, spearheaded by GE Research and Johns Hopkins University, delved into “Fast scanning mirror Wobble Enabled Build Schema (Fast-WEBS)” to facilitate thermal adjustments in additive manufacturing. Other entities such as R3 Digital Sciences, Macy Consulting tackled Topic 4 by creating a process monitoring and ex-situ inspection framework. Deloitte Consulting was at the forefront of Topic 6, centered on promoting sustainable approaches in additive manufacturing.
Subsequently, America Makes and the NCDMM distributed $1.2 million to the recipients of the EARTH project beneficiaries, backed by the OSD(R&E) and AFRL. The victorious teams, piloted by IC3D, and the RTX Technology Research Center, put a strong focus on the environmental virtues and endurance of AM, pushing for recycling and reuse of 3D printing inputs.
The project led by IC3D speeds up the recycling of polymers by the U.S Department of Defense (DoD), while the team under RTX’s leadership refines the powder and methodologies for a more sustainable additive manufacturing. This effort is in harmony with the larger purpose of the project, which is to discover sustainable solutions for future habitats.
“Why did the 3D printer go to therapy? Because it had too many layers of unresolved issues!”
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