Optimization of High-Speed Post-Processing Equipment (TACFI)

Composites Based Additive Manufacturing (CBAM) technology is the world’s fastest AM technology by over 15x (and up to 1,000x depending on the technology). With a speed-boost like this the post-processing steps have not yet achieved the same cycle time, meaning that to achieve the same throughput multiple post-processing machines are needed. While this is a viable and reasonable solution frequently implemented elsewhere throughout modern manufacturing, this activity focuses on novel approaches that should be able to sync the post-processing cycle time with that of the high-speed CBAM printer. If successful, this project will reduce complexity, labor, and cost in measurable and meaningful ways. In particular, the proposed effort will upgrade, in parallel, the two CBAM post-processing steps, with a target to reduce the end-to-end 4-5 hour post-processing cycle time for a single 1”-tall build block down to less than an hour. When manufacturing 100s of build blocks, this type of optimization fundamentally changes the operational dynamics, providing far greater adaptability to constrained logistics and higher throughput with lower labor, time, and cost. The increase of the speed of the CBAM production process by four times will significantly impact AFRL/RX and HQ ACC’s ability to fulfill mission needs at every level, from current conflict areas to potential near peer adversaries in the future.