Divergent Adaptive Production System for Flexible Aircraft Sustainment?

Over the course of this Phase I effort, Divergent and the University of Oklahoma (OU) will conduct a feasibility study of how Divergent’s mature advanced manufacturing commercial solution, the Divergent Adaptive Production System (DAPS), could be adapted to reverse engineer, print, and rapidly prototype replacements for critical and/or obsolete aircraft sustainment parts to improve aircraft readiness and reduce maintenance delays. Divergent and OU will work with the Air Force Sustainment Center (AFSC) to better understand the drivers of DAF aircraft sustainment bottlenecks, identify suitable parts/part types for reverse engineering through the DAPS solution, and ultimately select one critical/obsolete aircraft part to focus prototyping efforts on. Divergent and OU will conduct preliminary analysis on the selected part. This will include Divergent designing a reverse-engineered CAD model and OU conducting mechanical characterization and testing of Divergent's additively manufactured metal materials at the coupon level, including quasi-static tensile and fatigue tests. Additionally, the OU team will conduct metallurgical characterization, including scanning electron microscopic imaging to understand the material properties and microstructures.  The Phase I effort will conclude with delivery of a final report which compiles findings from these analyses and provides a technical roadmap for follow-on prototyping of a physical replacement part for further testing and analysis in a subsequent Phase II effort.