Open Additive
Open Additive
Open Additive’s large-format 600 x 600 x 300 mm LPBF testbed, developed under independent funding for technology and applications development.
Open Additive has been awarded a 27-month United States Air Force Commercial Readiness Programme (CRP) contract to advance its metal additive manufacturing technology and product line to industrial scale.
The CRP contract is worth $2.94 million and is titled ‘Open Systems Platform for Multi-Laser Additive Manufacturing’. It is being sponsored by the Air Force Research Laboratory, Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.
Open Additive is a spinout from Universal Technology Company which only went fully operational at the start of 2020. Earlier this month, the company announced a redesign of its flagship metal 3D printing product, PANDA, a metal laser powder bed fusion platform with available in two versions; one with a build volume of of 152 x 152 x 241 mm and the other with a build volume of 280 x 280 x 318 mm.
Through its work with the US Air Force, however, the company will be looking to develop a larger format machine. The partners will focus on developing versatile open architecture laser powder bed fusion systems with advance processing and in situ monitoring capabilities, while also aiming to accelerate the transition of Small Business Innovative Research and Small Business Technology Transfer technologies, products and services to Phase III and into the defence acquisition process. By the contract’s end, Open Additive and the US Air Force hope to have developed and demonstrated a prototype quad-laser powder bd fusion machine equipped with full user control of standard and advanced process parameters, multi-sensor monitoring and feedback control, and an integrated heated build plate within a 600 x 600 mm build area.
“This effort paves the way to extend the versatility and advanced capabilities of our smaller systems to a much larger and more capable platform for the defence industrial base,” commented Open Additive President Dr. Ty Pollak. “We’re excited to support the Air Force to push in this direction.”
The Air Force contract was awarded in February 2020, with the first technical review being completed last month. Open Additive Chief Scientist Dr. Thomas Spears, formerly of GE Aviation and GE Additive, will serve as the project’s Principal Investigator. The University of Dayton Research Institute will also participate as a primary partner to the project.
