Wichita State University's National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) in the US has purchased a new professional grade metal additive manufacturing (AM) system. The RPM Innovations 222 Standard System is a professional-grade system with powder-fed laser metal deposition technology with a rotary table for cladding or building around a shaft. ‘Additive manufacturing has advanced dramatically in the last decade and permeated into just about every business sector,’ said Paul Jonas, NIAR director of special programs. ‘The new RPMI system will enhance our capacity for prototyping, tool development and additive manufacturing research.’ NIAR performs structural testing for additive manufacturing materials and parts, and works with standards organizations in the development of guidelines to standardize the materials, processes and quality of additive manufactured parts. Its additive manufacturing lab already houses a range of 3D printers including a BAAM (big area additive manufacturing) and fused deposition modeling (FDM), polyjet, direct laser metal sintering (DLMS) and full-color selective deposition lamination (SDL) capabilities.
This story is reprinted from material from NIAR, with editorial changes made by Materials Today. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent those of Elsevier.
