VALENCIA, CA – March 1, 2008 – Solid Concepts Inc., a rapid prototyping and direct digital manufacturing company, has sought and achieved a SBIR grant for the Direct Part Manufacturing (DPM) of nonstructural components for aircraft by the U.S. Air Force.
The objective of the Air Force grant is to validate direct part manufacturing technology for nonstructural components in aerospace applications. Nonstructural components include items such as clips, brackets, and ducting that do not receive the same attention of structural components in weapon system design. The large number of these parts provides a challenge in cost and lead time to manufacture. For the polymer applications, Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) has shown promise in accelerating manufacturing processing times by producing complex structures and improving the buy-to-fly ratio for components. SLS provides the ability to easily make very complex geometries directly from digital CAD data, making it ideal for limited run manufacturing to produce end-use parts.
The focus of this effort will be to develop advanced direct part manufacturing techniques or materials for nonstructural aerospace parts that require up to a 270°F service temperature while maintaining the same part weight and dimensions (typical nylon based SLS materials are capable of operating temperatures to 180°F). The higher temperature would open up the potential parts list for direct part manufacturing. The process would also allow integration of several parts into newly designed integrated parts, reducing the number of parts managed per aircraft.
The Air Force anticipates decreasing recurring manufacturing costs for the related parts to be in the 50-60% range.
ABOUT SBIR AND STTR PROGRAMS
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Technology administers the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program and the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Program. Through these two competitive programs, SBA ensures that the nation's small, high-tech, innovative businesses are a significant part of the federal government's research and development efforts. Eleven federal departments participate in the SBIR program; five departments participate in the STTR program awarding $2billion to small high-tech businesses. The U.S National Science Foundation administers the SBIR.GOV site on behalf of the federal government.
