Metal additive manufacturing (3D printing), also known as Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) or Powder Bed Fusion (PBF), is changing the way metal parts are designed and produced. New software, processes and materials are redefining manufacturing value equations for specific types of parts, which can lead to improvements on existing products, new business models and new markets.

There is one aspect of the paint and coatings finishing business virtually guaranteed to give the budget director heart failure: climate control. There's no way around it – climate control systems are expensive.

The process of determining the ideal plasma treatment that will resolve a challenging bonding or adhesion issue is an exact science, often the domain of chemists and physicists.

Northrop Grumman Corporation
Falls Church, VA
703-280-2900
www.northropgrumman.com

The Northrop Grumman Corporation-developed Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD) Battle Command System (IBCS) successfully demonstrated its ability to scale up and network across long distances during a recent U.S. Army-led test. The evaluation was conducted by U.S. Army soldiers over a five-week period with air and missile defense assets located at sites in New Mexico, Texas and Alabama.

S.S. White Technologies
St. Petersburg, FL
727-626-2800
www.sswhite.net

S.S. White Technologies, a company that specializes in the design and manufacture of flexible shafts and related assemblies, is currently offering bespoke flexible shaft solutions for aerospace applications.

Beckwood Press Company
Fenton, MO
636-343-4100
www.beckwood.com

Beckwood Press Company, a company that specializes in the design and manufacturing of custom hydraulic presses, automation systems, and the Triform line of precision forming equipment, was recently awarded a contract by the United States Army—Natick Soldier Research, Development & Engineering Center (NSRDEC) to produce a custom 1,000-ton hydraulic press that will be used to consolidate ballistic composites in a compression molding application.

FLIR Systems, Inc.
Wilsonville, OR
1-800-254-0630
www.flir.com/IBAC2

FLIR Systems, Inc. announced recently that it has received a delivery order for FLIR IBAC™ 2 biological agent detector systems to support the United States (U.S.) Forces Korea (USFK). The delivery order is under a 10-year indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract in support of the Joint United States Forces Korea Portal and Integrated Threat Recognition (JUPITR) program led by the Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical and Biological Defense (JPEO-CBD). The order is valued at $4 million with deliveries beginning in July 2018.

Arnold Defense
St. Louis, MO
636-575-9190
www.arnolddefense.com

Arnold Defense, the St Louis based international manufacturer and supplier of 2.75-inch rocket launchers, recently announced the commencement of initial low-rate production of their “FLETCHER” land-based, 2.75-inch/70 mm weapon system. The FLETCHER system can just as easily be mounted on military vehicles as well as base defense platforms.

The purpose of this endeavor was to investigate the effect of 3-D weave architecture on PIP-processed ceramic-matrix composites (CMC). Microstructural studies were performed to document the resulting microstructure and mechanical testing was performed to determine the high-temperature durability of the five different variants of SiC/SiNC CMC investigated.

Lightweight composite structures offer significant long-term cost-saving opportunities for the U.S. Army as replacements for traditional metal structures. However, high-strength economical bonding processes must be developed to join composites in order for them to be viable replacements. The Army is exploring approaches, also under evaluation in the commercial aerospace industry, to reduce the process steps associated with composite bonding.