Page 24 - 3DMP Summer 2022

3D Tech Centers Help Manufacturers Jump Aboard the Metal-AM Train
gases in the build chamber.”
Of the three commercial machines in use at the Pratt & Whitney Additive Manufacturing Center, its 3D Systems ProX300 machine has been a workhorse, operated with different alloy powders, including 17-4 PH stainless steel.
Microstructure and Phase Formation
Research conducted at the PWAMC typically focuses on processing- microstructure investigations. “Of partic- ular interest,” Hebert says, “is the theo- retical underpinning of rapid solidification theory for the microstructure and phase formation during AM.”
Also a focus, thanks to the unique amount of flexibility afforded by the IPG Photonics machine, is research directed at developing new AM alloys, aided by using AM simulation software to develop machine settings.
“We also had IPG to design the machines with multiple sensor ports, more than are available on the commer- cial machines,” Hebert says, “so we can add more sensors and probes into the build chamber and collect additional data during builds.”
Like CCAT, plenty of U.S. military proj- ects fall to Hebert and his team, including steel-AM projects for the U.S. Navy. “We have projects underway for the National Institute for Undersea Vehicle Technology sponsored by the Office of Naval Research, with Electric Boat and the Navy Undersea Warfare Center, Newport, RI, as support- ers,” Hebert shares. “The Navy really has gotten behind AM, and expects its sup- pliers to follow suit, and we’re positioned to help them get there.”
And, last but not least, the PWAMC stays busy working on a massive, ongoing project with the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), a multi-year effort that encompasses a broad range of technolo- gies, of which AM is just one. “Here we are involved more on the material and process design side,” Hebert says. “We’ve worked in areas such as solidification cracking (of castings and AM parts).”
Another area of interest funded by AFRL: powder-flow characterization and optimization. “Cracking is a real-world problem that we spend a lot of time on,” Hebert says, “developing knowledge. That and powder flow are two current topics receiving much of our attention.”
3DMP
“We are not membership-based,” Garo- fano explains, “we exist to serve the man- ufacturing ecosystem. In Connecticut, we manage state-funded programs that focus on small to mid-sized companies and act as a fiduciary, providing what we call ‘money for manufacturing’ as outlined at ccat.us/programs.”
CCAT also partners with the big prime contractors in the region—Pratt & Whit- ney, Sikorsky, Electric Boat and others— on federal programs. Among the center’s current project work:
• A $5-million Navy ManTech program with Electric Boat focused on AM and supply-chain readiness
• Partnering on a $1.5-million Advanced Research Projects Agency-Ener- gy (ARPA-E) open project with the U.S. Department of Energy for Precision Com- bustion, Inc., to study solid oxide fuel- cell innovations
• DOE-funded programs centered on AM of catalytic reactors (with Skyre, Inc.) and steam-turbine components (Siemens)
• Commercial work for the Electric Power Research Institute to develop an additively manufactured 225-lb. valve, using the DMG Mori hybrid DED equip- ment.
More AM Expertise
...lies just up the road from CCAT, at the University of Connecticut’s Pratt & Whitney Additive Manufacturing Center (PWAMC). The center’s current lineup of AM machines—used primarily for research purposes—includes an Arcam A2X (used mostly for Ti-6Al-4V), an EOS M270 machine (for Inconel 718) and a 3D Systems ProX300 machine,” says the cen- ter’s director, Dr. Rainer Hebert.
“Of the three commercial machines,” he says, “our ProX300 machine has been the workhorse, and has printed numerous alloy types, including, for example, 17-4 PH stainless steel, Inconel 939 and Monel K-400.”
Most recently added to the PWAMC additive arsenal: a custom-built IPG Pho- tonics powder bed printer installed early in 2019, which features a vacuum cham- ber, gas circulation system with soot removal, the ability to use two different alloy powders and open access to all hard- ware and software.
“Most importantly,” Hebert explains, “we easily can modify the machine, using different raking setups and blades, for example, and custom-build plates (4- and 12-in. dia.). And, we can use different
22 | 3D METAL PRINTING • SUMMER 2022
3DMPmag.com