Project at YSU Among Those Funded by America Makes

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Youngstown State University is among the recipients of funding through the third phase of America Makes’ Maturation of Advanced Manufacturing for Low-Cost Sustainment program.

The total funding for the seven projects is $9.8 million, including $6.5 million from the Air Force Research Laboratory, National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining and America Makes.

“The anticipated project outcomes,” said America Makes Executive Director Rob Gorham in a release, “will empower the sustainment community to adopt advanced additive manufacturing technologies, improving rapid part replacement/maintenance for legacy aircraft, enabling on-demand replacement of critically damaged or obsolete components, and reducing the cost and lead time to fabricate replacement components.”

YSU’s project is being done in collaboration with 3D Systems, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Oerlikon, Penn State Applied Research Laboratory, Case Western Reserve University and University of Dayton Resarch Institute. The project will research laser powder bed fusion methods that produce components for Air Force aerospace applications.

“Phase 2 efforts included establishing the performance of parts fabricated with nominal process parameters, this research effort will specifically focus on rogue defects, such as lack of fusion defects and powder contamination,” America Makes said in its announcement. “Because the strength and fatigue life capability of airframe parts can be significantly degraded by the presence of these rogue flaws from the [laser powder bed fusion] process, these flaws will be identified using a variety of detection methods so that the subsequent impact of the these flaws can be addressed and resolved in the design of AM parts in order to satisfy structure requirements.”

The funding awards focus on three areas: feature-based qualification using directed energy deposition, understanding manufacturing realities of advanced manufacturing and emerging process technology for low criticality part families.

YSU’s project fell into the second category, along with projects at Penn State Applied Research Laboratory – “Understanding stochastic powder bed fusion AM flaw formation and impact on fatigue” – and Ohio State University’s Center for Design & Manufacturing Excellence, “Evaluation of defects in metal [laser powder bed fusion] AM using multiple lasers.”

General Electric, in collaboration with YSU, Raytheon and EWI, were the sole project awardee in the first research area. In the third field, awards were made to Utah Advanced Materials and manufacturing Initiative, United Technologies Research Center and University of Dayton Research Institute.

More information on the projects can be found at AmericaMakes.us.

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