3D Systems Awarded Additive Manufacturing Research Contracts

3D Systems (3DS) has been awarded two research contracts totaling over $1 million to develop advanced aerospace and defense 3D printing capabilities. The contracts are administered by America Makes and funded by the Air Force Research Laboratory.

To complete these contracts, 3DS will work with military suppliers such as Honeywell, Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin to develop a precision closed loop and advance manufacturing and monitoring platform.

The first contract is designed to integrate predictive technologies into 3DS’ SLS (selective laser sintering) 3D printers. With this technology, organizations can monitor parts at the layer level during the manufacturing process.

The second contract utilizes DMP (direct metal 3D printing) to enable aerospace and defense manufacturers to fully control every aspect of the direct metal manufacturing process at the layer level.

“These important research projects will position leading industry manufacturers to 3D print high-performance precision parts at convincing scale with enhanced functionality,” said Neal Orringer, vice president of Alliances & Partnerships, 3DS. “3D Systems pioneered the use of advanced manufacturing for aerospace and defense applications and is proud to work with such esteemed partners to further advance these technologies and meet and exceed the future demands of the Air Force.”

For more information, visit 3D Systems.

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company’s website.