SBIR Phase II: High Efficiency Robocasting for Ceramic Product Application

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）二期项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是通过将先进陶瓷的3d打印转化为大规模生产的增材制造，为3d打印独特的陶瓷结构创造商业可行性。这将是美国的一项新能力。考虑的三维结构不容易用传统的制造技术制造，但与传统制造的几何形状相比具有显着的优势。如果3d打印结构能够经济地制造出来，其社会影响将是巨大的，从创造数百个美国制造业就业机会到减少二氧化碳排放。商业上可行的产品，可以改善现有市场和开辟新的市场是现实的期望。改善过滤、催化生产清洁燃料、H2重整器、固定燃料电池排放控制和二氧化碳封存的结构受到了其他设备制造商的启发，并且已经在第一阶段的进展中进行了联合开发。有趣的是，这些产品和更多的产品可以通过改变计算机程序从相同的产品线中生产出来。基础设施的巨大效率是增材制造的一个幸运特征。简而言之，该项目将使Robocasting Enterprises成为美国出口商，进入全球市场，获得经济和社会效益。这个项目是基于3d打印陶瓷材料的机器人铸造的基础技术。机械铸造是一种添加剂技术，可用于快速制造先进的晶格结构陶瓷，以增强过滤和催化性能。然而，由于与开裂有关的问题，机器人铸造产品在很大程度上仅限于尺寸小于2英寸的产品。该项目的目标是通过以下方式使增材制造在陶瓷领域更具商业可行性：(a)克服机器人铸造大型陶瓷部件的技术挑战；(b)设计和实施与低工资国家的传统制造工艺和生产在商业上具有竞争力的大规模生产线。实现这些目标；需要改进材料、工艺和设备。发展将包括：1)材料创新，以减少大型陶瓷体的开裂；2)工艺创新，减少大型陶瓷体的开裂；3)设备和自动化创新，提高生产率。在第二阶段结束时，预计大型（即5-10英寸）先进陶瓷晶格结构的快速制造将被证明具有商业可行性，并且渗透到几个市场将是重要的。这项技术将为大公司的投资和三期增长做好充分准备。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is in the creation of commercial viability for 3-D printing unique ceramic structures by transforming 3-D printing of advanced ceramics into mass-production additive manufacturing. This will be a new capability for the US. The 3-D structures being considered can't be easily made with traditional manufacturing techniques but have significant advantages over traditionally manufactured geometries. If 3-D printed structures could be manufactured economically, the societal impact could be tremendous ranging from creation of hundreds of US manufacturing jobs to reduction in CO2 emissions. Commercially viable products that can improve existing markets and enable new markets are realistic expectations. Structures for improved filtration, catalytic production of clean fuels, H2 reformers, emission controls for stationary fuel cells, and CO2 sequestration have been inspired by Other Equipment Manufacturers and are already being jointly developed as a result of Phase I progress. Interestingly, these products and more could be produced from the same product lines just by changing a computer program. This great efficiency of infrastructure is a fortunate trait of additive manufacturing. In short, this project will position Robocasting Enterprises as a US exporter into world-wide markets for economic and societal benefit.This project is based on foundational technology called robocasting for 3-D printing ceramic materials. Robocasting is an additive technique demonstrated to be useful for rapid fabrication of ceramics into advanced lattice structures for enhanced filtration and catalytic performance. However, robocast products have been largely limited to products with dimensions less than 2 inches because of problems related to cracking. The goal of this project is to make additive manufacturing much more commercially viable for ceramics by: (a) overcoming the technical challenges for robocasting large ceramic parts and; (b) designing and implementing a scaled-up manufacturing line commercially competitive with traditional manufacturing processes and production from low-wage countries. To achieve these goals; materials, processes, and equipment improvements are required. Developments will include: 1) material innovations to reduce cracking in large ceramic bodies; 2) processing innovations to reduce cracking in large ceramic bodies; 3) equipment and automation innovations to increase production rates. At the end of Phase II it is anticipated that rapid manufacturing of large (i.e., 5-10 inch) advanced ceramic lattice structures will be demonstrated to be commercially viable and penetration into several markets will be significant. The technology will be perfectly poised for investment from larger companies and Phase III growth.