Additive manufacturing and the Kansas City national security campus

Additive Manufacturing (AM), in the form of polymer/stereolithography based Rapid Prototyping has been commercially available since the late 1980’s. More recently, the technique has migrated from a tool primarily for visualization and prototypes to a technology capable of manufacturing tooling, fixtures, and actual parts from a variety of polymers, metal alloys, and ceramics. This migration has occurred in concert with significant advancements in the capabilities of commercial AM machines, as well as improvements in material physical properties, and the understanding of process/physical property relationships. As such, AM has the potential to revolutionize manufacturing and is a technique tailor-made for early adoption within the Nuclear Security Enterprise in terms of capability, complexity, and production volume. However, AM is critical, even the most critical, but just one aspect within the broader concept of Digital Manufacturing, which also encompasses thinking and designing differently, simulation, validation, and qualification. Without these other aspects of Digital Manufacturing, there is little hope that the speed and cost savings promised by AM will be realized. This presentation will discuss the mission of the National Security Campus in the context of advanced manufacturing and AM, and expand upon the theme of Digital Manufacturing. The Kansas City National Security Campus is operated by Honeywell Federal Manufacturing & Technologies, LLC for the United States Department of Energy under Contract No. DE-NA0002839