This PFI: AIR Technology Translation project focuses on translating an Additive Manufacturing technology called Selective Inhibition Sintering (SIS) to fill the gap for an inexpensive and capable 3D Printer for fabrication of metallic parts. Currently all metallic part printers are highly priced and are unaffordable by small manufacturing firms as well as by the growing maker community which is increasingly becoming the source of much innovation in the U.S. The translated technology has the following unique features: a) It will be an order of magnitude less expensive than current metallic part printers, b) it can process very high temperature metals and alloys such as super alloys which have extensive uses, and c) it can build a large number of parts concurrently hence is suitable for small to medium lot size manufacturing. The technology provides exemplary cost effectiveness and high throughput when compared to the leading competing technologies (such as DMLS, EBM, and LENS) in this market space. The project accomplishes this goal by a systematic research, development and experimentation process resulting in a reliable process knowledge and a pre-production machine that can be mass produced at low cost and will be able to print precise parts out of a variety of metals and alloys. The partnership engages RapidTech, ASCO Sintering, ProMetal and 3D Systems to provide guidance in the technical aspects of metallic AM domain and other aspects of commercial relevance as they pertain to the potential to translate the technology along a path that may result in a competitive commercial reality. The potential economic impact is expected to be over $30M in two years after the commercial introduction of the technology and much more in the succeeding years, which will contribute to the U.S. competitiveness in the rapidly growing metallic Additive Manufacturing market space. The societal impact, long term, will be paramount as the proposed project will yield an affordable machine that will be capable of rapidly fabricating parts out of bronze, stainless steel, and titanium as well as other metal powders generally used in powder metallurgy. Practical uses of such a technique includes fabrication of functional parts for the aerospace and automotive industries, and custom design parts for medical devices, primarily using hard-to-machine materials such as stainless steel, titanium and super alloys. The SIS process will be particularly useful for the conventional powder metallurgy industry because it can eliminate the need for fabrication of expensive molds. Finally, metallic 3D Printing has so far been out of the reach of the growing maker community. SIS has the promise of making the needed capability available to this creative community which is already making significant economic and social impact in the US.
