FLEXIBLE MANUFACTURING OF ADVANCED STRUCTURAL CERAMICS USING LAMINATED OBJECT MANUFACTURING TECHNIQUES

FABRICATING CERAMIC PROTOTYPES OR MANUFACTURING LOW VOLUME QUANTITIES OF CERAMIC PARTS IS A COSTLY, TIME-CONSUMING, AND INFLEXIBLE PROCESS. THESE RESTRICTIONS LIMIT THE USE OR EVEN THE CONSIDERATION OF CERAMICS IN SOME APPLICATIONS. A VARIETY OF TECHNIQUES HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED TO PRODUCE PAPER- AND POLYMER-BASED PARTS DIRECTLY FROM A COMPUTER-AIDED DRAWING WITHOUT ANY HARD TOOLING, DIES, OR MOLDS. LONE PEAK ENGINEERING AND HELISYS SEE AN OPPORTUNITY TO DEVELOP A FLEXIBLE MANUFACTURING PROCESS FOR ADVANCED STRUCTURAL CERAMICS USING ONE OF THESE TECHNIQUES, LAMINATED OBJECT MANUFACTURING (LOM). USING THE LOM PROCESS, CERAMIC PARTS CALL BE PRODUCED IN A MATTER OF DAYS COMPARED TO THE MONTHS SOMETIMES REQUIRED BY CONVENTIONAL METHODS. THIS PROCESS WILL BE FLEXIBLE AND SUITABLE FOR A WIDE VARIETY OF CERAMIC MATERIALS IN VIRTUALLY ANY CONFIGURATION. THE LOM PROCESS WILL VASTLY EXPAND THE RANGE OF APPLICATIONS BEING CONSIDERED FOR CERAMIC MATERIALS. THIS PHASE I PROJECT WILL DEMONSTRATE THAT LOM CAN BE USED TO MANUFACTURE HIGH DENSITY, ADVANCED CERAMICS. IN PHASE II, AN LOM SYSTEM SPECIFICALLY FOR CERAMICS WILL BE DESIGNED AND CONSTRUCTED. USING THIS SYSTEM, A COMPONENT OF INTEREST TO DOD WILL BE PRODUCED. THE FLEXIBILITY AND COST- AND TIME-SAVINGS OF THE LOM PROCESS WILL ALSO BE DEMONSTRATED IN PHASE II. THE PROPOSED PROJECT WILL BE A JOINT EFFORT BETWEEN LONE PEAK ENGINEERING, INC., WHO HAS A STRONG CERAMICS BACKGROUND, AND HELISYS, INC., WHO HAS PIONEERED THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE LOM PROCESS FOR NON-CERAMIC MATERIALS. ANTICIPATED BENEFITS/POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS - ONCE FULLY DEVELOPED, THE LOM PROCESS WILL PROVIDE A COST-EFFECTIVE, RAPID METHOD TO PRODUCE ADVANCED CERAMIC COMPONENTS FOR BOTH MILITARY AND NONMILITARY APPLICATIONS. THE LOM PROCESS CAN ALSO BE USED TO RAPIDLY PROTOTYPE CERAMIC COMPONENTS FOR NEW APPLICATIONS OR IN NEW DESIGNS.