The Air Force Research Laboratory enlisted Wright Brothers Institute to establish, organize and execute a series of Grand Challenges designed to create innovative technologies for Air Force use. Grand Challenges, open to the U.S. public, set ambitious goals that harness science, technology, and innovation to solve important national or global problems while attracting non-traditional government partners. Source
The most recent Grand Challenge goal was to identify a suitable large-format metal additive manufacturing (MAM) technology that meets the technical requirements of build envelope and material suitability. The use of MAM techniques to enable rapid prototyping of novel structures with the necessary mechanical and thermal performance is of significant interest to the Department of Defense. Large-format MAM technologies (>1 m build height, width, & depth) could provide many potential advantages as compared to conventional manufacturing techniques such as on-demand production capabilities, opportunities for part consolidation, alternate/agile sources of manufacturing, small lot size production, and performance-enhancing geometric customization. Source
Despite rapid advances in MAM techniques, current technologies still suffer from drawbacks in material selection, printed material properties, build envelope, part surface finish, spatial resolution (dimensional accuracy), and lot to lot reproducibility. Innovative research and development that resolve several of these limitations would greatly advance DoD capabilities. Source
The Challenge called for White Paper submissions; about 20 complete proposals were received. Of those, six finalists were chosen through evaluation by a panel of subject matter experts.