S. Gardner
Big Metal Additive,
United States
Keywords: metal addative manufacturing,
Summary:
Metal additive manufacturing (AM) is gaining acceptance for military vehicles that require design efficiencies, optimization and new configurations. While much of the adoption has been for small scale components, hybrid metal AM is capable of producing full scale vehicle structure with the benefits of design optimization and structural integration not possible from legacy manufacturing methods. These new geometries enable a new design space to be explored for vehicle configuration. This presentation will examine a prototype, optimized, full scale electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) primary airframe structure, a 21in. diameter unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) and a 50ft ship-to-shore connector logistics transport. As this manufacturing capability is gaining momentum the power of advanced design matched with rapid production of functional prototypes can accelerate studies, development and early manufacturing