Shipboard Proof Testing Apparatus for Field-Expedient Parts - MSC P4870

The U. S Navy is currently installing additive manufacturing (AM) machines onto its fleet for low-cost, fast turn-around fabrication of Navy components. Combined with methods such as reverse engineering metrology, AM can produce low batch on-demand quantities, which is ideal in the case of repair/replace Navy components that were damaged in the field or inserting a new design for lightweighting or performance enhancements. While the advantages of implementation of AM structures are clear, quality of the AM part is still highly dependent various parameters, resulting in an increased risk of potentially inadequate parts. Materials Sciences LLC (MSC) proposes a turn-key shipboard Modular Testing Apparatus for proof testing of Additive Manufactured (AM) components via a reconfigurable test platform. The overall complexity associated with the setup and operation can exceed that of a traditional testing machine, however, MSC believes that using a constrained design (i.e., within a specific working envelope and spatial resolution) and existing DfAM toolsets, a comprehensive testing software suite can be developed, ultimately reducing the specialized knowledge required for testing. MSC intends to prove feasibility during Phase I through preliminary structural design and analysis using innovative composite materials and existing AM toolsets.