More recently, the USAF has awarded aerospace firm Boom Supersonic with a $60 million contract to accelerate the R&D of its upcoming ‘Overture’ supersonic flight-capable aircraft, and has funded the advancement of 3D printing specialist Senvol’s machine learning technology to drive forward the qualification of new aerospace 3D printing materials.
Since then, the USAF has filed a patent application for a novel 3D printed nose simulator, has enlisted circuit board fabrication specialist BotFactory to develop a fully-automated desktop electronics 3D printer as part of its ‘AFWERX’ program, and has awarded 3D printer manufacturer Optomec with a $500,000 contract to develop optimized 3D printing process parameters to repair its fighter jet engine turbine blades. Back in 2020, engineers from the Air Force Sustainment Center became the first to test a 3D printed metal component inside a USAF aircraft engine. The USAF has leveraged additive manufacturing for some time across a variety of applications and projects. A network technician for the 595th SCS constructs a cover for an alert light with a 3D printer at Offut Air Base. Brian Golden, National Airborne Operations Center and 595th Command and Control Group Commander. “This strategy is saving the Department of Defense thousands of dollars each time the part fails,” said Col. By leveraging the technology to produce the first cap, the USAF recovered the cost of the printer and scanner and saved more than $4,000. When a supplier stopped manufacturing a red fault indicator lens cap to cover the lights on the SACCS system, the USAF purchased a 3D printer to manufacture its own replacement. The US Air Force (USAF) has invested in a 3D printer capable of producing spare parts for its Strategic Automated Command Control System (SACCS).
0 kommentar(er)
