America Makes has announced the names of the projects that will receive funding for phase 3 of what it calls the ‘maturation of advanced manufacturing for low-cost sustainment program’ (MAMLS). funded by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, Manufacturing and Industrial Base Technology Division.
The 3D printing organization plan to invest US$6.5 million to fund multiple awards with at least US$3.3 million in matching funds from the awarded project teams for total funding worth roughly US$9.8 million.
With the addition of this Project Call, America Makes will soon have a portfolio of more than US$115 million in public and private funds invested in advancing additive manufacturing (AM) in the United States.
The MAMLS program is aimed at improving efficiency of factory and/or US Air Force (USAF) Air Logistics Complexes for rapid part replacement. ‘These seven awarded applied research and development projects will have a tremendous impact on ensuring the strategic readiness of the US Air Force,’ said America Makes executive director Rob Gorha. ‘The anticipated project outcomes will empower the sustainment community to adopt advanced additive manufacturing technologies, improving rapid part replacement/maintenance for legacy aircraft, enabling on-demand replacement of critically damaged or obsolete components, and reducing the cost and lead time to fabricate replacement components.’
The chosen metal-related projects are:
Featured-based qualification method for directed energy deposition AM led by GE in collaboration with EWI, Raytheon, and Youngstown State University. This project will develop and demonstrate a process methodology of feature-based build qualifications (FBQs) using a directed energy deposition (DED) process. This project will use example components representative of aircraft engine and missile-based applications to develop, build, and test a method of FBQ for additively manufactured components
Accelerating MAMLS direct part production: effects of defects in laser powder bed fusion AlSi10Mg led by Youngstown State University (YSU) in collaboration with 3D Systems, Boeing, Case Western Reserve University (CWRU), Lockheed Martin, Oerlikon, Penn State Applied Research Laboratory (ARL), University of Dayton Research Institute (UDRI), and Vibrant. This project will accelerate the transition of laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) produced AlSi10Mg components for USAF aerospace applications. The research will specifically focus on rogue defects, such as lack of fusion (LoF) defects and powder contamination.
Understanding stochastic powder bed fusion AM Flaw formation and impact on fatigue led by Penn State Applied Research Laboratory (ARL) in collaboration with 3D Systems, Moog, Inc, Oerlikon, United Technologies Research Center (UTRC). This project will strive to minimize the seemingly random and sporadic stochastic flaws that occur in components produced by laser powder bed fusion (LPBF), even when manufactured under optimized processing conditions.
Evaluation of defects in Metal LPBF AM using multiple lasers led by the Ohio State University (OSU) Center for Design & Manufacturing Excellence (CDME) in collaboration with GE Additive and Proto Precision Manufacturing Solutions. This project will aim to understand the metallurgical defects in multiple laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) systems and apply non-destructive examination (NDE) methods in order to identify potential defects in service.
Demonstration of 3D composite based AM (CBAM) build process for low criticality part families led by Utah Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Initiative (UAMMI) in collaboration with Impossible Objects (IO) and the Utah Composites Lab. This project will demonstrate and evaluate 3D composite-based AM (CBAM) capability as a viable option to generate non-critical, non-structural components that satisfactorily fulfil the required part function for the USAF and the sustainment community.
This story uses material from America Makes, with editorial changes made by Materials Today. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent those of Elsevier.
