In 2024, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) -A F&E agency of the US Department of Defense -plunged an exciting program in connection with the use of additive manufacturing by the military. The structures, which were clearly dissolved to guarantee perseverance (surge) program, gave applicants a clear challenge: Create a system that can predict the lifespan of a 3D -printed part in just three days.
The complexity of this challenge lies in the unique microscopic characteristics or defects shown by 3D printed parts. These functions can vary in terms of location and size – even if the same hardware and materials are used – and provide strong indications of the longevity of every unique printed part.
The military would like to better understand these defects so that it can accelerate the certification process for 3D printed parts. Due to the rapid prediction of the partial life, the DOD parts can produce parts much faster and justify increased use of the 3D printing in general. (If parts take months or even years to be qualified, the speed advantages of the process are canceled and the value of the hardware is reduced.)
A year later, we now know the identity of the successful Surge scholarship holders, which you have received between 10.3 million US dollars over a period of four years. These recipients work on different approaches both independently and in cooperation in order to reduce the current evaluation process for the lifespan of around 18 months to three days. In addition, they develop processes that can be carried out more on normal laptops than on the currently required supercomputers.
Texas A&M is planning its course for the DARPA program
One of the successful Surge scholarship holders is Texas A&M University, which has received $ 1.6 million in the overall assignment. Four engineers from the university work together with 3D pressure monitoring specialists Addiguru In the first two years of the program for the development of an on-printer sensor package to record real-time information. Next, the team is developing a AI-controlled, high-resolution defect detection system with which data can be read and processed from different sensor sources.
At the same time with these efforts, the Texas A&M team will work together with another team at the University of Michigan and on the simulation specialist Alphastar and standstency ASTM International. Together, this group will aim to accelerate the precise prediction of microstructure features that are generated during the additive manufacturing process.
“This is an exciting moment for the additive production area,” said Dr. Moses Taheri Andani, assistance professor for mechanical engineering in Texas A&M. “By integrating in-situ data into the underlying microstructural features that were formed during printing Take in the produced parts. ”
In addition to Andani, the Texas A&M team includes Dr. Raymundo Arróyave, Chevron Professor (II) of materials science and engineering; Dr. Aala Elwany, professor of industrial and system technology; and Dr. Ibrahim Karaman, Chevron Professor and Head of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering.
“This DARPA project is particularly exciting for us because it is a unique opportunity to overcome one of the most critical challenges for the field today,” said Karaman. “We are confident that this work has a transformative impact on industry and will help to switch off the full potential of additive manufacturing on a scale.”