Materion Corporation has been awarded a 5 million USD contract from the United States Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) to expand ongoing research and development of additive manufacturing for beryllium and aluminium-beryllium alloys.
The AFRL believes that expanding the additive manufacturing capabilities for these ‘specialised materials’ would enable significant advantages in the production and performance of optics structures, guidance systems, and thermal management applications.
With additive manufacturing, the organisation is confident greater precision and efficiency in the production of lighter weight and complex components can be achieved, and by combining these benefits with the mechanical properties of beryllium, the designs and capabilities of optical systems, space-based connectivity and mobility technologies will be enhanced.
Having awarded Materion Corporation the contract, the advanced materials solutions company will work to develop processes for multiple deposition technologies in a safe and expandable environment. The company will also work on related support technologies, such as pre- and post-processing equipment. The AFRL, meanwhile, will support the labour, material and operating costs of the project.
“Our additive manufacturing laboratory has demonstrated the viability of beryllium additive manufacturing, and we look forward to working with the US-AFRL to advance into a new phase of our research and development efforts,” commented Clive Grannum, President, Materion Performance Materials. “With our long history innovating beryllium solutions, we have the expertise to operationalise these specialised manufacturing techniques for existing and new customers who need more complex components for their next-generation applications.”
Materion Corporation is the latest of several companies working in additive manufacturing to be awarded significant contracts by the US Air Force and its various entities. In June, it was announced that AddUp is participating in a $1.5m research program to advance IN-718 3D printing for the US Air Force, while two years ago the organisation deployed three Inkbit Vista multi-material 3D printing platforms through a $1.7m contract. Essentium, Optomec and Open Additive are among the others to work with the US Air Force in recent years.
