NAMII Announces Second Project Call Winners

Certainly not everything has gone the way President Obama might have wished during his presidency, but one move that seems to be working just fine is the foundation of the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute (NAMII), which was recently branded "America Makes." The program has thus far managed to connect partners from both the private and public sectors, handing out nearly $30 million in funding meant to advance AM in the US.

“We also have the chance, right now, to beat other countries in the race for the next wave of high-tech manufacturing jobs,” said President Obama in his State of the Union address. “My administration has launched two hubs for high-tech manufacturing in Raleigh and Youngstown, where we’ve connected businesses to research universities that can help America lead the world in advanced technologies.” 

America Makes recently announced the winners from its second round of project calls. Launched in August 2013, the second call focused on five areas of AM: design, materials, process and equipment, qualification and certification, and knowledgebase development. The project call winners will share $19.3 million in new funding.

“We were very pleased by the quality of the projects proposed by our members for this second round of additive manufacturing R&D projects being launched, which of course made the final selection process even more challenging,” said America Makes director and NCDMM VP Ed Morris.

The 15 winners include:

• “In-Process Quality Assurance (IPQA) for Laser Powder Bed Production of Aerospace Components” led by GE Aviation. The project will develop commercially viable, platform-independent quality assurance technology for high-volume AM production of aerospace components, through the continued development of an IPQA technology solution that incorporates multiple AM machines and multiple super alloys.

• “Developing Topology Optimization Tools that Enable Efficient Design of AM Cellular Structures” led by the University of Pittsburgh. The project intends to develop software to improve AM structural designs based on cellular structures. According to the research team, the solution lies in the use of micromechanics models for capturing the behavior of cellular structures in finite element analysis (FEA).

• “Refining Microstructure of AM Materials to Improve Non-Destructive Inspection (NDI)” led by EWI. This project aims to improve the ability to ultrasonically inspect titanium alloy components for use in aerospace.

• “Optimization of Parallel Consolidation Method for Industrial Additive Manufacturing” led by Stony Creek Labs. The project will continue development of an AM method by consolidating powder at many points on a part simultaneously. The research will be complemented by online training, workforce development, and publication initiatives to disseminate information about the project’s results and support transition to commercial adoption.

The full list of winners can be found here. Projects are expected to get underway by spring of this year.

“I want to congratulate the America Makes community and our second project call awardees,” said America Makes founding director Ralph Resnick. “I continue to be extraordinarily proud of the strides that America Makes is making to advance additive manufacturing and 3DP technologies. Today’s announcement of the second project call awardees exemplifies how our incredibly innovative and active community-comprising both members and non-members-is working together, sometimes even with competitors, to advance our industry by exploring the limitless possibilities of 3DP. I am very excited for these projects to get underway.”

Below you’ll find a video about the project call.

Source: America Makes