Manufacturing at the Point-of-Need Center

MPN Project Spotlight

Project Number: WP18-C4-1323
Project Title: Recycling and Reuse of Metal Alloys by a Single Solid-State Additive Manufacturing and Repair Process

A transformative hybrid solid-state, high-shear additive manufacturing process, Additive Friction Stir-Deposition (AFS-D), is being researched to recycle metal waste/scrap at a forward operating base (FOB) to either fabricate new or repair existing components.

In this research, two specific metal waste streams from the deployed Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) units are identified (1) scrap metal from machine chips generated by maintenance-MOS activities and (2) expeditionary airfield (EAF) aluminum landing mats from EAF-MOS activities. These two waste streams generate chips and metal strips, respectively, that have been processed by AFS-D. Whereas in the novel solid-state AFS-D process, metals are deposited additively, layer-by-layer through a hollow rotating tool.

The proposed low-power approach incorporates the advantages of additive manufacturing and grain refining into a single process, allowing fabrication of small and large parts with superior build rates yielding enhanced mechanical properties. The process has been demonstrated with both powder and solid feedstock material. Very importantly for FOB use, the AFS-D process does not require metal powders, which can be difficult, energy intensive, or impractical to produce in-theater.