Affordable High Rate Manufacturing Process for High Density Sub-Projectiles

The objective of this proposed program is to create a cost effective mass production process using Selective Laser Sintering technology (SLS) to produce complex geometry projectiles for the Navy – on a mass production basis. The existing situation is that the US Navy uses complex-geometry flechette projectiles made of high density tungsten with rail-gun technology. Traditional manufacturing for projectiles, especially those projectiles with complex geometries such as flechettes, can be costly. The high-temperature SLS technology offers the potential to significantly reduce the cost of complex-shape projectiles for the Navy and simultaneously allow for the design of even more complex shapes where the Navy does not have to worry about the manufacturability of the projectiles.