A TECHNOLOGY ROAD MAP FOR AM
Material property and process data are paramount to the qualification and certification process of any part, whether produced by AM or traditional manufacturing. In tradi- tional manufacturing, most processes (e.g., casting) and the properties and tolerances of the materials used (e.g., steel) are universally understood, documented and accepted. However, with AM, new processes and materials are being developed rapidly, and information about the performance of the parts that are produced is often insufficient. Man- Tech is making investments through several projects to create the capability and infrastructure required to capture, store and share this data across the Army.
“We hand off the data that we have collected after we mature technologies to a certain level,” said Davis. “Ten we look at the materials and what we want to do with them and find a program office that has potential applications and timelines that we can support.”
CONCLUSION AM is an exciting area of research and one that prom- ises dramatic results in the not-too-distant future. With a sophisticated AM printer nearby, Soldiers deployed in remote outposts around the world will be able to “print” virtually everything they need, weapons.
from food to shelter to
If a Soldier gets burned, a 3-D map of his injury will deter- mine what types of cells should be printed and exactly where the cells need to go in order to grow new skin. Before a platoon moves to a new location, Soldiers will recycle any waste, making cleanup quick and easy. Without a cumber- some logistics process, the Army will be able to provide more capabilities at a lower cost. Parts will be printed on the spot, eliminating the shipping process.
While there is much work to do, AM is gathering speed. In time, AM will not only make Soldiers’ lives easier, but also change how the Army conducts business.
For more information, go to
www.army.mil/rdecom.
MS. ARGIE SARANTINOS-PERRIN is a public affairs specialist for Camber Corp., providing contract support to RDECOM. She holds an M.S. in professional writing and a B.A. in mass communications from Towson University. She has 11 years of public affairs experience supporting DOD.
As the result of rapid growth in AM capabilities over the past several years and the Army’s increasing interest and need in using AM to improve readiness, the Army estab- lished an AM community of practice (COP) in 2014. The COP, with representatives from across the Army enter- prise, meets quarterly to share information, coordinate projects and activities and leverage resources, ultimately avoiding duplicating efforts, improving AM and promot- ing its use across the Army. COP meetings also serve to identify capability gaps in AM and provide recom- mendations to Army leadership regarding areas where additional research and development are needed.
The Army recently completed an AM technology road map, which was sponsored and managed by ManTech. The project, which began this year, includes RDECOM, program executive offices, the acquisition community and Soldiers, and provides strategic guidance across the Army materiel and life cycle management communities.
The road map has four key areas that are critical to using AM efficiently and effectively:
• Materials: what needs to be done to develop, mature and capture associated data for materials used in AM.
• Design: how to develop and use advancements in the CAD and engineering fields for AM products, and how to best use the capabilities.
• Process: what AM processes can be used to make AM parts, and what process capabilities are needed.
• Value chain: the most efficient and cost-effective way to use AM and the infrastructure required to sup- port it.
The AM technology road map will be used to inform industry and academia on how the Army plans to use AM, as well as issues that need to be addressed. The Army’s road map, along with individual AM road maps from the Navy, the Air Force, the Defense Logistics Agency and the U.S. Special Operations Command, were integrated into an overarching DOD-wide AM plan that was rolled out in December 2016.
“I don’t know of any other time when organizations across the Army and DOD came together to develop a road map that involves everyone from the requirements community to the user community and all the way to the sustainment community,” said Andy Davis, ManTech program manager.
—MS. ARGIE SARANTINOS-PERRIN
ASC.ARMY.MIL
87
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
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