3D Systems and Penn State promote direct metal printing to US military

06 Oct 2015

Academic-industrial partnership works on value of Direct Metal Printing at US Center for Innovative Materials Processing.

Digital design and fabrication solutions developer 3D Systems has announced a partnership with Pennsylvania State University to support operations at the Center for Innovative Materials Processing through Direct Digital Deposition (CIMP-3D).

This R&D center is the official additive manufacturing demonstration facility for the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and a major component of a DoD university affiliated research center and strategic facility for aerospace and defense.

The lab includes direct metal printing experts from Penn State and 3DS, who are conducting research together on 3DS' ProX Direct Metal Printing technology. The collaboration has three main goals: to develop cutting-edge, high-resolution DMP technology; to enable government agencies (including DARPA and the US Navy) to sponsor projects that qualify DMP for defense companies' adoption; and to provide training in 3DS' DMP technology within the US defense and aerospace workforces.

Neal Orringer, 3D Systems' VP of Alliances and Partnerships, commented, “The CIMP-3D is a great national institution and we are eager to welcome aerospace and defense companies at every tier of the supply chain, as well as key defense labs, to join us as we revolutionize manufacturing.”

Dr. Richard Martukanitz, Director of CIMP-3D, added, “We are excited by the prospect of collaboration with a leading US 3D printing technology provider. Fostered by the joint technical resources of 3D Systems and CIMP-3D, our goal is to develop and provide enablers for the adoption of additive manufacturing for critical applications to the DoD and U.S. industry."

Works in progress

3DS and Penn State researchers are already working on-site on several US Government-funded projects, including:

• Air Force research to accelerate wider adoption of DMP, beginning with Honeywell Aerospace's supply chain, focused on producing and rapidly qualifying 3D printed metal aerospace parts;
• An Air Force effort to establish an architecture for manufacturers such as Northrop Grumman and Honeywell to integrate DMP into manufacturing networks on their 21st century factory floors and embed quality control monitoring equipment; and
• Navy projects to develop performance and safety processes for qualifying DMP in key production processes.


Now booking: 3D Systems events.

Promotional events – this week

The CIMP-3D center is playing a multifaceted role in advancing 3D printing technology, with an expansive commercial R&D portfolio as well as a range of undergraduate and graduate education programs. On October 7-8, 2015, it is hosting the Technology Exchange on Coordination of US Standards Development for Additive Manufacturing to promote the development of additive manufacturing standards.

Ahead of the event, on October 6, 3DS and Penn State will host a Government Users Group, inviting DoD Direct Metal Printing users to a special forum to discuss additive manufacturing in metals and tour the CIMP-3D facility.

About the Author

Matthew Peach is a contributing editor to optics.org.