Overseen by America Makes, the country’s national additive manufacturing innovation institute, and led by the University of Dayton Research Institute (UDRI), Ohio, this project brings together 3D printing and aerospace manufacturing leaders, including 3D Systems, Lockheed Martin, Orbital ATK and Northrop Grumman.
Figure 4 Production is described as “Industry’s first scalable, fully-integrated factory solution for direct 3D production”. Boasting a volume of 124.8 by 70.2 by 346 mm, Figure 4 Production features up to 15 times faster print speeds than other 3D printing technologies, automated material handling and integrated post-processing, such as washing, drying and curing, to reduce manual processes and facilitate automation for high volume production. It can employ over 30 plastics.
The US Air Force will explore how Figure 4 Production system can be used to reproduce aircraft components for decades-old planes that may no longer have reliable sources of replacement parts. This effort demonstrates capabilities for rapidly delivering replacement parts just-in-time without minimum order quantities – eliminating the need for parts warehousing and reducing time of aircraft on ground.
According to America Makes, legacy aircraft used by the US Air Force require parts that may be out-of-production due to manufacturing obsolescence, costs to create, low-quantity requirements, poor documentation or other availability-related challenges.
While 3D Systems Direct Metal Printing and stereolithography technology has featured in previous America Makes projects, this new project marks the first time that the US Air Force will deploy what it calls Digital Light Processing (DLP) technology to supply low criticality components, including electrical connectors, knobs, elastomeric grommets and spacers for legacy sustainment equipment.
