The National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) has purchased a Velo3D Sapphire 1MZ machine to develop performance-based qualification methods of metal 3D-printed parts for airframe applications.
NIAR was established at Wichita State University in 1985 to drive innovation in aeronautical applications. The organisation has a 350 million USD annual budget, a workforce of 1,200, and seven locations across Wichita, Kansas and Huntsville, Alabama. NIAR actively engages with many federal resources and programs to drive innovation in aerospace and defence applications.
Its Sapphire 1MZ printer will be configured to produce parts in Inconel 718, a durable nickel-based alloy that exhibits high corrosion, oxidation and creep resistance at extreme temperatures, and is regularly used in the aerospace industry. The Sapphire 1MZ, which has a 315 Ø x 1000 mm build envelope, will be used to identify and validate best practices related to performance-based qualification of additively manufactured parts for airframe applications. Velo3D’s Assure Quality Assurance software will also play a key role in NIAR’s performance-based qualification research. Assure has been developed to gather data on each layer of a print, giving engineers complete confidence in the parts. That data can then be compared to existing datasets to ensure consistent outcomes.
“Our team is focused on helping the U.S. identify materials, designs, and techniques that can support the country’s aerospace, defence, and manufacturing industries and we’re glad to work with America’s own metal additive manufacturing provider,” said Lauren Tubesing, Business Development Lead, Advanced Manufacturing at National Institute for Aviation Research. “Our organisation is well-known for its work in aeronautical research and by leveraging Velo3D’s solution to better understand the nuisances within the additive manufacturing process, we can help build confidence in 3D-printed parts, thereby accelerating adoption of this advanced manufacturing technology.”
“Qualifying 3D-printed parts for production use is a massive challenge and something that has greatly impeded broad adoption of additive manufacturing for commercial aviation applications and it’s great to see a brilliant organisation like NIAR work to solve this,” said Brad Kreger, Velo3D CEO. “The work NIAR will conduct will not only be invaluable to their organisation, but the entire industry. We’re proud to be a part of this effort.”
NIAR installation of the Sapphire 1MZ metal additive manufacturing system comes on the back of two additive manufacturing-related 10 million USD contracts awarded by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Center of Excellence for Composited and Advanced Materials (CECAM) and NASA. The first contract will see NIAR research advanced materials, focusing on composites and additive manufacturing, and the second will support research related to the development and implementation of composites and advanced materials for hypersonic applications.
