Defense

Astro America正在与军队开发超大型3D打印机

The应用科学技术研究组织(Astro America)已被选为协调一项新的美国陆军倡议,重点是开发超大型金属3D打印机以生产地面车辆。

Built as part of the Jointless Hull Project, the system will be used to 3D print single-piece armored vehicle hulls (chassis) for tanks and Humvees. According to ASTRO, the machine is set to be the world’s largest metal 3D printer for ground vehicle production and will enable reduced lead times, significant manufacturing cost reductions, and lighter weight vehicle designs.

“The mission is to develop a large-scale tool capable of producing single, jointless combat vehicle hulls at a near net size of 30ft x 20ft x 12ft,” explains Larry Holmes, Principal Investigator at ASTRO America. “Additive manufacturing at a massive scale holds the potential to transform the way vehicles are built for the military while reducing supply chain fragility.”

美国陆军悍马。通过美国陆军的照片。
美国陆军悍马。通过美国陆军的照片。

Monolithic hulls for the front lines

需要前线战斗车辆来承受各种恶劣的条件,包括极端天气和对立部队的惊喜攻击。在这些战斗车辆上使用整体船体在生存能力和节省重量方面可能具有主要优势,但是传统的制造过程历史上一直在这种应用中挣扎。当涉及多个车辆型号时,尤其如此,因为加工和金属注塑造型等技术根本不是为了直接的几何灵活性而设计的。

这就是3D打印的来源,因为该技术能够为改进战斗机的性能提供以前不可能的部分设计。在备件生产的背景下,增材制造还可以缩短交货时间,这对于像美国陆军这样的组织至关重要,因为通常需要动态适应有限的时间表中的高风险情况。

美国陆军的增材制造工程师亚伦·拉隆德(Aaron Lalonde)补充说:“该项目将扩大金属添加剂制造的好处,尺寸范围,这将使技术的好处在更大的系统尺度零件上实现,并启用下一代车辆表现。”

Hull survivability and weight savings are crucial factors out in the field. Photo via Marine Corps.
船体的生存能力和节省重量是现场的关键因素。通过海军陆战队的照片。

Additive manufacturing in the Armed Forces

由Astro America管理的无连接船体项目已通过LIFT我,DoD-backed国家制造业创新nstitute. Additionally, the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Ground Vehicle Systems Center (DEVCOM GVSC) is directing the technical program while the Army’sRock Island Arsenal – Joint Manufacturing Technology Center将用于容纳新的增材制造平台。

“This is an ideal project for ASTRO America and its highly experienced team” concludes Jason Gorey, ASTRO America’s Executive Director. “This is not a research project for either hardware, software or materials. This is a direct implementation project where we scale existing, but advanced methodologies to the required hull-scale size. We will be working with equipment vendors as well as system integrators to deliver on this project.”

Late last year, ASTRO America also completed a U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) - 委托研究以加速3D printing of hypersonic missiles. The study details design plans for a comprehensive, end-to-end Hypersonic Production Accelerator Facility (HPAF) to consolidate the entire supply chain under one roof.

Elsewhere, in Australia, 3D printer manufacturerTitomic最近与机床制造商签署了一项协议的负责人Repkonto jointly build a new 3D printing production facility for defense applications. Specifically, the factory will focus on the fabrication of雷克恩设计的武器系统桶使用TITomic的专利动力学融合(TKF)3D打印技术。

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Featured image shows a U.S. Army Humvee. Photo via U.S. Army.