SBIR Phase I: Automated Assembly of Discrete Cellular Structures

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是大规模开发建筑，蜂窝材料。3D打印的尺寸限制可以通过模块化大规模生产部件的离散组装来克服。这种方法受益于增量装配，它消除了规模限制，并通过跨零件类型的一致装配过程实现可靠、低成本零件生产的最佳实践制造和可重复性。此外，该系统可以自动化。精度和可重复性是嵌入在零件本身。该项目将匹配最先进的性能指标，同时减少对固定工具的依赖，为用户定义的产品提供定制。这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目将通过引入一种基于模块化单元的新型材料来解决大规模数字化制造的问题。与连续的、基于层的增材沉积工艺相比，该方法依赖于离散组装。在这里，全局几何形状由局部约束定义，错误可以增量检测和纠正，异构零件可以连接，零件可以修复，重用和回收。该项目的目标是定义一种材料系统（组成材料，单元几何形状和紧固解决方案），可以以低成本实现高刚度重量比。这些特性目前并不存在于单一的整体材料中;相反，它们是通过将传统材料塑造成复杂几何形状的昂贵工艺来实现的。这些方法是劳动密集型的，并且具有用于加工的显著资本支出。该项目将展示离散网格材料与最先进技术相匹配的能力，同时通过自动化降低成本，减少工厂开销，并实现传统方法无法实现的性能优势。分析和数值模型将用于更大尺度（大于100米）的项目性能和成本。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is the development of architected, cellular materials at large scales. Size constraints of 3D printing can be overcome by discrete assembly of modular, mass-produced parts. This approach benefits from incremental assembly, which eliminates scale limitations and enables best-practice manufacturing for reliable, low-cost part production, and interchangeability through a consistent assembly process across part types. Further, the system can be automated. Precision and repeatability are embedded in the parts themselves. This project will match state-of-the-art performance metrics while reducing reliance on fixed tooling, offering customization for user-defined products. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will address issues of large-scale, digital manufacturing by introducing a new type of material based on modular, cellular units. In contrast to continuous, layer-based, additive deposition processes, this approach relies on discrete assembly. Here, global geometries are defined by local constraints, errors can be incrementally detected and corrected, heterogeneous parts can be joined, and parts can be repaired, reused, and recycled. The goals of this project are to define a material system (constituent material, unit cell geometry, and fastening solution) that can achieve high stiffness-to-weight ratios at low cost. Such properties do not currently exist in a single monolithic material; rather, they are achieved through expensive processes to shape traditional materials into complex geometries. These methods are labor-intensive and have significant capital expenditure for tooling. This project will demonstrate the ability of discrete lattice materials to match state-of-the-art while offering cost reductions through automation, reduction in factory overhead, and performance benefits unachievable with traditional methods. Analytical and numerical models will be used to project performance and cost at larger scales (greater than one hundred meters).This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.