Grant Awarded for “Super Finishing” 3D Lab, Builds on Existing Thermal Processing Technology Research
Source: Penn State News
A state-of-the-art “super finishing” lab for 3D-printed metal parts at Penn State University has received grant funding of $535,000 and will complement existing subtractive processing technology, including heat treating systems, as part of the one-year project, titled “Super Finishing of Printed Metallic Parts for High-Performance Naval Systems.” The grant has been awarded by the Defense University Research Instrumentation Program, which operates through the Department of Defense’s Office of Naval Research.
“The Navy has a strong interest in identifying and researching the technical issues of using 3D-printed metal parts for naval applications now and in the future,” said Ed De Meter, a professor in the Harold and Inge Marcus Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, is the principal investigator on the project. “They want to better understand how to design parts while identifying potential barriers and also benefits that may arise between the metal printing process and any secondary processing that is done to smooth out the surface texture of these parts.”