Two additively manufactured cargo links were installed on two operational MH-47G aircraft at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, in support of an extended flight test program. The cargo links were manufactured from a high-strength aluminium alloy 7A77 under NCDMM’s AMNOW program and represent the first Army-developed metallic AM aircraft parts to be flown on Army aircraft.
The key suppliers on the team at Aviation and Missile Center (AvMC) include HRL of Malibu, California, treating and supplying 7A77 powder, and Beehive Industries (formerly Volunteer Aerospace) of Knoxville, Tennessee providing the printing.
Machining and finishing will be done by Penn United Technologies of Cabot, Pennsylvania, alongside material testing by Product Evaluation Systems of Latrobe, Pennsylvania, and radiographic inspection by Pinnacle Industrial X-ray Laboratory of Suwanee, Georgia.
AMNOW was created in 2019 by America Makes, The National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (NCDMM) and Catalyst Connection. The initiative is funded by the U.S. Army and was set up in order to enable significant strategic and tactical advantages for the army.
The AMNOW program team consists of: NCDMM, The Barnes Global Advisors, Youngstown Business Incubator, Catalyst Connection, LECS Energy, Quotient, Advanced Engineering Solutions, GCA Coach, and the University of Alabama-Huntsville.
America Makes is a leading public-private partnership for additive manufacturing technology and education. It includes members include figures from industry, academia, government, workforce and economic development organisations, who work together as they attempt to accelerate the adoption of additive manufacturing and the nations global manufacturing readiness.
NCDMM was founded in 2003 as American defence manufacturing industry began attempts to revitalise. The company aim to drive innovation throughout the industry and have a history of teaming with other partners to use certain technologies when needed.
