Additive manufacturing provides agility for defense contractors.

• Author: Lonardo, Rich
• Position: VIEWPOINT

Military commanders at all levels rely on the U.S. industrial base to provide forces with superior platforms that are operationally available.

Despite relatively low demand for spares or few platform orders, the industrial base must be responsive over long periods. For metal cast parts, the cost and long lead time of tooling fabrication presents a challenge. Additional problems come from storing tooling during the decades of a weapon system's operational life.

The America Makes project, managed by the Air Force Research Laboratory, is applying additive manufacturing, or 3D printing, to this problem. The emerging results of this public-private project demonstrate that leveraging this technology, specifically for tooling applications, empowers original equipment manufacturers and their supply chains to increase industrial base agility, improve manufacturing efficiencies and boost the number of companies who may participate in lifecycle support.

Sand casting, where the material is used to make a mold, is the traditional way to cast metal. The tooling to create a sand mold traditionally involves making a pattern in the same shape as the end product and boxes to create sand cores to prevent molten metal from filling cavities during the final casting. For example, when casting an engine block, its shape would be based on the mold while cores would keep open interior passages for fuel, oil and air. Fabrication of the patterns and core boxes result in significant time and costs in the manufacturing process.

In 2014, America Makes--a public-private partnership seeking to increase U.S. competitiveness in the areas of additive manufacturing and 3D printing --funded a technology transfer progran to accelerate the technology integration of binder jet sand printing for mold and core tooling production, which is part o the metal casting industrial base.

America Makes leans on the applied research capabilities of its universities, the business expertise of its industry members and the educational and technical capabilities of the American Foundry Society to accelerate technology adoption. This public-private approach has resulted in increased agility in the U.S. metal casting base.

Rob Gorham, director of operations at America Makes, said: "We knew this project would clearly demonstrate 3D printing for tooling is a near-term opportunity." Engines, transmission housings, hydraulic assemblies and landing gear are a few examples of metal cast components on...