September_AMP_Digital

A D V A N C E D M A T E R I A L S & P R O C E S S E S | S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 9 8 0 3D PRINTSHOP CARBON FIBER PART READY FOR TAKEOFF The Utah Advanced Materials & Manufacturing Initiative (UAMMI) re- ports building its first carbon fiber 3D-printed part for the U.S. Air Force— a first aid kit restraint strap for the B-1 aircraft at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma. The part was made using a printer from project partner Impossi- ble Objects, Northbrook, Ill. A year ago, UAMMI was awarded federal funds to create carbon fiber AM parts for the Air Force. The goal was to replace broken parts on older legacy aircraft because most of the original parts are no longer produced. Over the past year, UAMMI has been working with the Air Force to identify noncritical parts that can be replaced using AM technology. One of the earliest agreed upon parts was a re- straint strap for a first-aid kit in the B-1 aircraft. In many of these aircraft, the Air Force has experienced failures with original restraint straps. Because replacement straps are no longer manufactured, significant costs and wait times are required to make new parts through traditional means. Using the machine from Im- possible Objects, UAMMI produced a replacement part using carbon fiber and thermoplastic materials. In April, they took the part to Tinker Air Force Base to fit check it with an operational B-1 aircraft. The project is being funded through the Air Force Research Labora- tory under an America Makes program called the Maturation of Advanced Manufacturing for Low Cost Sustain- ment (MAMLS). Through MAMLS, the Air Force intends to demonstrate that additive manufacturing can be used to replace noncritical parts on demand. Of particular interest are instrumentation knobs, wiring harnesses, small brack- ets, electrical connectors, and similar items. uammi.org . DOE FUNDS 3D-PRINTED TURBINE COMPONENTS The DOE, through its University Turbine Systems Research program, awarded researchers at the Universi- ty of Pittsburgh’s Swanson School of ngineering $802,400 to find an effec- tive quality assurance method for additive manufacturing (AM) of new- generation gas turbine components. The three-year project received addi- tional support from the university, re- sulting in a total grant of $1,003,000. The team will use machine learning to develop a cost-effective method for rapidly evaluating, either in-process or offline, the hot gas path turbine com- ponents created with laser powder bed fusion AM technology. ANSYS will serve as an industrial partner in this project. engineering.pitt.edu. 3D-printed first aid kit restraint strap for B-1 aircraft. Courtesy of Business Wire. From left, professors Xiayun Zhao and Albert To hold a 3D-printed turbine component in the lab. Courtesy of University of Pittsburgh. COLLABORATION SUPPORTS ISRAELI AEROSPACE EFFORTS Carpenter Technology Corp. and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) re- cently announced their collaboration to produce AM components for a serial production commercial aircraft. The partnership will result in IAI’s first metal- lic additively-produced parts, which are expected to provide significant man- ufacturing benefits and help prepare for future design improvements and enhancements. IAI is working closely with Israel’s Civil Aviation Authority for approval of the parts, which will rep- resent the first time this technology is permitted for commercial use in Israel. Carpenter Technology, through its Car- penter Additive business unit, will pro- duce the parts and provide supporting information to assist with the approval process. carpenteradditive.com .