Grainger College of Engineering progresses with $9m DoD contract
Pentagon funding to University of Illinois school is for metal 3D printing research, and targets additive manufacturing capabilities for military ground vehicles
The Grainger College of Engineering at the University of Illinois is progressing with a $9 million contract for a project with the Department of Defense (DoD) to research 3D printing applications for large metal military vehicle parts.
The new center will be housed at the University’s Research Park, and will contain two metal 3D printers priced at approximately $1.2 million and $2.5 million, respectively. The DoD is contributing $8.15 million of the total cost of the project, with the University covering $905,000 for the actual construction of the facility. The project is now underway after being confirmed last year, with further announcements on progress due later this year.
The Illinois Manufacturing Institute (IMI) is overseeing the project, and Executive Director Federico Sciammarella has confirmed that research will also span aerospace and automobile applications in the future. The center’s main aim is to develop metal 3D printing processes that can be scaled for larger production settings.
US government push for AM capabilities
The latest US military budget requested $3.3 billion for additive manufacturing projects, an 83% year-over-year increase, and the use of AM in the military is growing rapidly.
“If you’re in contested areas and you have no supply chain, there are … possibilities of being able to deploy these types of additive factories to these forward deployed bases to repair or replace or build components that are needed for the warfighter, “ said John Borrego, an additive manufacturing expert.
Agility in the supply chain is a recurring theme in the growing adoption of AM across many industries, as is quality of production, something which Borrega highlighted as a driving force behind such government-backed facilities.
“Because you’re melting metal, there are chances of microfissures and cracks forming. In some cases, it’s not a problem, but in cases where weight is critical, that’s a high risk,” he explained.
“That’s why the government comes to experts like Dr. King and other faculty here … so that we aren’t putting people in harm’s way,” he added, in reference to Bill King, Ralph A. Andersen endowed chair and professor in Engineering and Medicine at Grainger and who will lead the partnership.
