October 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 | O C T O B E R 2 0 1 9 6 8 3D PRINTSHOP NASA GRANT SUPPORTS EXTRATERRESTRIAL PRINTING A team of researchers led by as- sistant professor Harish Subbaraman at Boise State University, Idaho, will receive a NASA Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) three-year grant of more than $700,000. With this grant, the team will explore the challenges and opportunities of plasma jet printing for NASA’s emerging In-Space Manufac- turing (ISM) program. Currently, items that must be re- supplied during space missions are sent as cargo shipments from Earth. However, as missions become more complex and occur further into space, the need to create materials and com- ponents in space is growing. Plasma jet printing could provide a solution. Often called the fourth element, plasma is an ionized gas with a wealth of potential uses. The range of possibilities afforded by plasma jet printing means the tech- nology may lend itself to purposes be- yond manufacturing, such as in-space surface sterilization, decontamination, food treatment, and more. Subbaraman’s team has the fol- lowing goals: Gain a robust understand- ing of the fundamental science behind the working mechanism of the plas- ma jet system through modeling and systematicexperimentsand make refinements to opti- mize performance; investi- gate practical cross-cutting applications; and improve understanding of the be- havior of the technology in a multidirectional operat- ing setting. boisestate.edu . COURSE TACKLES AM LEGAL ISSUES A new course in the Penn State Additive Manufacturing and Design (AMD) graduate program seeks to address intellectual proper- ty (IP) issues. By completing “AMD 597 Legal Issues in Additive Manufactur- ing,” students will gain the knowledge necessary to help them navigate legal concerns arising in the AM field. Tradi- tionally, engineers did not need to be well versed in the legalities of contracts, nondisclosure agreements, and intel- lectual property, but the implications of AM now require them to consider IP in every aspect of their business models. For more information, email AMDPro- gram@psu.edu . AIR FORCE PRINTS NONSTRUCTURAL PARTS The 60th Maintenance Squadron is the first field unit in the U.S. Air Force to be certified with an industrial size 3D printer authorized to produce nonstruc- tural aircraft parts. The Stratasys F900 prints plastic parts up to 36 x 24 x 36 in. using a material called Ultem 9085 that is more flexible and stronger than tradi- tional plastic. The printer is certified by the Federal Aviation Administration and the Air Force Advanced Technology and Training Center. Technicians are able to download blueprints from an on- line database. “The Joint Engineering Data Man- agement Information Control System (JEDMICS) is where we go to download approved blueprints,” says Master Sgt. John Higgs, 60th MXS aircraft metals technology section chief. “Now, the Uni- versity of Dayton Research Institute is working with the engineers to get those parts they developed into JEDMICS.” The first approved project was printed on the Stratasys F900 on Au- gust 12 and will replace latrine covers on the C-5M Super Galaxy. Typically, parts that do not keep aircraft from performing their mission do not have as high a priority for replacement. “The latrine covers we just printed usually take about a year from the time they’ve been ordered to the time they’ve been delivered,” says Higgs. “We printed two of the covers in 73 hours.” Ultimately, the maintenance shop wants to use the printer for more than just aircraft parts. “We have the capability to print parts on a production scale for a lot more cus- tomers,” adds Higgs. “The overall goal is to generate products for every organi- zation to support whatever needs they may have.” wpafb.af.mil/afrl/afosr. Harish Subbaraman and Boise State teammembers pose with a plasma printer. An aircraft part prints on the Stratasys F900 3D printer at Travis Air Force Base, Calif. Courtesy of Louis Briscese.