Powder-based Additive Manufacturing Laboratory (PAM Lab)
Abstract
The two pillars of technologies in the 21st century are Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Additive Manufacturing (AM), colloquially known as 3D printing. The latter is our proposalÕs subject, in which China has spent $1.8bn just in 2018. Unless the US government invests heavily in cutting-edge technologies and educates knowledgeable engineers, Asian companies will soon take the lead in those crucial industries. Notably, that just happened to Intel who lost its crown in chip manufacturing in July and is now years behind its Taiwanese rival TSMC. 3D printing refers to the process of creating customized products layer by layer from materials including but not limited to metals, glass, and plastics. Its current usages are no longer merely prototypes and include building hotels by US start-up Habits, creating cars by Chinese start-up Pix Moving, and BAEÕs powering through innovative manufacturing techniques for its combat aircrafts. All in all, amongst the breakthrough innovations, none has the same potential as 3D printing to reverse the decline in productivity growth, and as such, now more than ever, the industry is in dire need of experts and related researches. In that regards, California State University Long Beach (CSULB) with one of the most diverse studentÕs profiles in the nation including females, Hispanics, people of color, and other minorities, has the perfect environment to train and educate the next generation of 3D printing workforce, and below details that plan. This proposal requests the purchase of the ÒInnovent+Ó system from US company ExOne in Pennsylvania. This state-of-the-art 3D printer accepts various raw powders such as fine metal, ceramics, and composite powders. Its precision powder dispensing outputs extremely high-quality end-parts. Furthermore, it enhances powder compatibility through adaptable ultrasonic re-coater and has flexible output sizes for 80, 30, and 10 picoliter printheads. First and foremost, the usage of this 3D printer is to create a new laboratory at CSULB. This equipment singlehandedly empowers PI and faculty members to produce cutting-edge research in AM and brings much-needed enthusiasm amongst the studentÕs community. A sole production of a simple ÒwrenchÓ in seminars for high school students at campus could have a life-lasting impact on them. Moreover, that provides the platform for multiple new courses in 3D printing technology at both undergraduate and graduate levels. The core idea is to develop hands-on experiments that are reproducible and to replicate industrial level problems. This would tremendously benefit students who learn from visualization. Besides, California is one of the forefronts for additive manufacturing, and only this machineÕs sophistication allows for various projects and collaborations within state companies and agencies like SpaceX and NASA, both located in Los Angeles metropolitan area. At last, the goal of our faculties is to use a mixture of statistical analysis to refine and enhance the quality of the printerÕs outputs. Like many other applied mathematical techniques, this requires a huge database of samples and experiments. The high speed and different properties of the Innovent+ 3D printer are essential to achieve that aim. Besides, this printer embarks the power for new lines of research such as characterizing aerospace parts, fabricating sintering systems of laser-etched glasses, inventing new cardiovascular stents, creating anode-free all-solid-state Li-ion batteries. This list continues further and is discussed in later sections.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Jun 25, 2021
- Source ID
- W911NF2110295
Entities
People
- Sara Moghtadernejad
Organizations
- Army Contracting Command
- California State University
- Office of the Secretary of Defense