MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY, ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION

Machina Labs Awarded U.S. Air Force Contract for Robotic Composites Manufacturing

Machina Labs | March 20, 2023 | Read time : 03:50 min

Machina Labs Awarded U.S. Air Force Contract for Robotic Composites Manufacturing

Machina Labs today announced that the United States Air Force (USAF) has awarded Machina Labs $1.6M to advance and accelerate the development of its robotic technology for manufacturing of metal tooling for high-rate production of composites.

Higher vehicle production rates in comparison to current rates is anticipated as experts project that the airline industry will need to triple its fleet to about 60,000 airplanes over the next 20 years. With respect to military applications, there is a similar drive towards balancing mission agility, sustainment, and vehicle cost; giving rise to emerging air vehicle concepts like the Low-Cost Autonomous Collaborative Platforms (ACP) program where there is a higher tolerance over limited life and loss of vehicles during operations.

In addition, Advanced/Urban Air Mobility (AAM/UAM) vehicles have received considerable commercial traction in recent years. These highly automated, on-demand passenger and air cargo vehicles are anticipated to have production rates in the tens to hundreds of thousands per year. Lightweight, high-strength composite structures are a key enabler for achieving these goals. As such, the factory throughputs of advanced composite structures have to be increased and their production cost lowered.

Machina Labs’ AFWERX Tactical Funding Increase (TACFI) contract will be focused on metal tooling for a fast-cure, out-of-autoclave (OOA) composite processing route. Through its previous contract with the Air Force Research Laboratory, Machina Labs has validated that its tools have vacuum integrity, are dimensionally stable once thermally stabilized, and are thermally more responsive than conventional metal tools.

Composite tooling, depending on the materials selected and the tool size, could cost more than $1 million per tool and require 8-10 months of lead time. These costs and lead times for composite tooling do not support referenced increased manufacturing goals.

“Machina Labs has demonstrated that its large-envelope, two-robot, incremental sheet metal forming technology can be used for manufacturing of metal tooling for composites resulting in dramatically reduced tool costs and time-to-market of composite parts,” according to Craig Neslen, Manufacturing Lead for the ACP Program at AFRL. “At the same time, given that no part-specific hardware is necessary for manufacturing of the sheet metal tools, it is possible to not only fabricate the tools expeditiously, but to quickly accommodate design changes when necessary.”

Machina Labs uses robots the way a blacksmith uses a hammer to creatively manufacture different designs and material, introducing unseen flexibility and agility to the manufacturing industry. The company’s manufacturing platform combines the latest advances in robotics and AI so great ideas can quickly and affordably turn to reality and businesses can benefit from rapid iteration to bring more innovative products to market, faster.

“We are pleased to advance our work with USAF in order to advance composite tooling for a wide variety of applications,” according to Babak Raeisinia, Co-Founder and Head of Applications & Partnerships at Machina Labs. “Keeping inventory of tooling is expensive. I believe technology will free up capital and allow organizations such as USAF to transition to an on-demand tooling model.”

Machina Labs combines the latest advances in AI and robotics to deliver finished metal products in days – not months or years – and gives customers unprecedented time to market and competitive advantage. Robotic sheet forming is the first process enabled by Machina’s patented manufacturing platform. Using material- and geometry-agnostic technology, the platform outperforms traditional sheet forming methods that rely on custom molds or dies.

About Machina Labs

Founded in 2019 by aerospace and automotive industry veterans, Machina Labs is an advanced manufacturing company based in Los Angeles, California. Enabled by advancements in artificial intelligence and robotics, Machina Labs is developing Software-Defined Factories of the Future. The mission of the company is to develop modular manufacturing solutions that can be reconfigured to manufacture new products simply by changing the software.

Spotlight

Essentium, Inc. provides industrial 3D printing solutions that are disrupting traditional manufacturing processes by bringing product strength and production speed together, at scale, with a no-compromise engineering material set.

Spotlight

Essentium, Inc. provides industrial 3D printing solutions that are disrupting traditional manufacturing processes by bringing product strength and production speed together, at scale, with a no-compromise engineering material set.

Related News

ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING

The Technology House Accelerates Large-Scale Parts Production with 3D Systems’ SLA 750

GlobeNewswire | May 26, 2023

3D Systems today announced The Technology House (TTH), an Ohio-based contract manufacturer, has purchased an SLA 750 to enhance its manufacturing workflow. 3D Systems’ latest Stereolithography (SLA) printer offers unprecedented levels of throughput and reliability as compared to other available SLA printers. The combination of the SLA 750’s high-speed production, large build area, and broad materials portfolio is allowing TTH to expand the services offered to its customers. TTH is now able to help its customers push the boundaries of innovation — from prototyping to finished parts — for a range of industrial and healthcare applications. The Technology House opened in 1996 as a 3D Systems customer with one SLA 500 3D printer. Since that time, TTH has continued to integrate additional 3D Systems SLA printers including SLA 5000s, SLA 7000s, and Vipers among other 3D Systems technology. After 3D Systems introduced the SLA 750 in 2022, TTH chose to add it to their workflow due to its exceptional capabilities, including enhanced automation and efficiency that results in shorter lead times, faster post-processing, and improved part quality. “We’ve been a customer of 3D Systems for over 25 years,” said Lauren Good, VP, finance, The Technology House. “We’ve found their solutions, service, and overall partnership invaluable to our business. After our thorough evaluation of the competitive landscape, we chose to add the SLA 750 to our manufacturing workflow not only due to its speed and accuracy which allows us to produce both large parts as well as fine feature detail, but also for the number of production-grade materials that we can now offer. 3D Systems’ material portfolio expansion with the SLA 750 allows us to offer better solutions to our customer base faster. We can complete jobs much more efficiently with very little post-processing. Having the SLA 750 is helping us get more throughput out the door which means we are able to complete the job in half the time and offer a better cost to our customers.” 3D Systems’ SLA 750 is designed to deliver the industry-leading combination of print size, speed, accuracy, and resolution for final parts that possess unmatched finish and mechanical performance. The 3D printer delivers up to 30% faster print speeds and has a 15% larger build envelope and smaller hardware footprint than previous models, allowing manufacturers to optimize and scale production. The system features a self-calibrating dual-rail recoater to improve print process reliability and final part mechanical properties. Additionally, Hyper-Scan™ vector technology — a proprietary scanning algorithm developed to address the unique requirements of production additive manufacturing applications — optimizes key speed and productivity elements such as laser focus and power, as well as vector motor kinematics to deliver significantly improved printer speed and throughput. The printer includes downstream automation readiness and is robot compatible for 24/7 lights-out operation (e.g., fully automatic printer turnover, job-offloading, washing, on-boarding). The SLA 750 also includes 3D Sprint®, all-in-one software to prepare, optimize, and print 3D CAD data. 3D Sprint delivers all the tools needed to quickly and efficiently go from design to high-quality, true-to-CAD printed parts without relying on multiple software packages. “We’re excited to have The Technology House as an early adopter of our SLA 750 solution,” said John Murray, vice president, global ISG segment & business development, 3D Systems. “As a long-standing 3D Systems customer, they have been able to leverage our innovation evolution to benefit both their business and their customers. The combination of the SLA 750’s enhanced speed, optimized laser scanning, improved resolution, and part quality, and faster industrial-scale post-processing is helping TTH more efficiently serve their customers. As a result, they are able to take on even more business which is helping them maintain their position as an industry leader. I look forward to seeing how they’ll continue to grow and deliver additional benefits for their customers.” About 3D Systems More than 35 years ago, 3D Systems brought the innovation of 3D printing to the manufacturing industry. Today, as the leading additive manufacturing solutions partner, we bring innovation, performance, and reliability to every interaction - empowering our customers to create products and business models never before possible. Thanks to our unique offering of hardware, software, materials, and services, each application-specific solution is powered by the expertise of our application engineers who collaborate with customers to transform how they deliver their products and services. 3D Systems’ solutions address a variety of advanced applications in healthcare and industrial markets such as medical and dental, aerospace & defense, automotive, and durable goods. More information on the company is available at www.3dsystems.com.

Read More

MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY

ARCH Cutting Tools Acquires Cape Coral, Florida based Company, VR Wesson

Prweb | May 29, 2023

ARCH Global Holdings LLC Company announced the acquisition of VR Wesson, a manufacturer of standard and special inserts, tool holders, and milling cutters located in Cape Coral, Florida. The company will join ARCH Cutting Tools, a division of ARCH and industry-leading, American manufacturer of solid round and indexable metal removal tooling. ARCH Cutting Tools is headquartered in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, and serves the medical, aerospace, defense, automotive, energy, agriculture, and general industrial markets. ARCH Cutting Tools has facilities across the Eastern United States and is dedicated to engineering high-performance standard and custom tools that increase efficiencies for end-users. VR Wesson will be consolidated into ARCH Cutting Tools – Orchard Park and will expand the company’s existing insert offering via ARCH Specials, as well as our North American Carbide and Ultra-Dex legacy brands. “ARCH Cutting Tools is proud to announce the acquisition of VR Wesson, whose advanced manufacturing technologies and key accounts will be consolidated into our Orchard Park, New York facility,” said Robert Gralke, President of ARCH Cutting Tools – Orchard Park. “We are particularly excited to bring laser PCD finishing capabilities under our roof, which will increase our team’s efficiencies and expand our product offering to key industries, including automotive and medical.” About ARCH Cutting Tools ARCH® Cutting Tools Corp., an ARCH Global Holdings LLC Company (ARCH) based in metro Detroit, is an industry-leading, American manufacturer of solid round and indexable metal removal tooling. As a mid-sized, full-service company, ARCH Cutting Tools leverages the collective capabilities of its facilities to engineer a wide array of high-performance standard and custom tooling. ARCH Cutting Tools combines the expertise of leading American manufacturing professionals and expanding technologies to serve the medical, aerospace, defense, automotive, energy, agriculture, and general industrial markets.

Read More

MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY

Aqua Metals and 6K Energy Announce Partnership to Develop Next Generation of Sustainable Materials for Lithium Batteries

Globenewswire | May 08, 2023

Aqua Metals, Inc., a pioneer in sustainable lithium-ion battery recycling, and 6K Energy, a leader in the production of sustainable materials for lithium-ion batteries, today announced a partnership to develop the next generation of low-carbon battery materials and plans to establish a long-term agreement for 6K Energy’s PlusCAM™ cathode material manufacturing plant. Both Aqua Metals and 6K Energy (“the Companies”) share the vision of creating a domestic low-carbon supply chain for critical battery materials and advancing cost-effective production methods for sustainable lithium-ion batteries. The Companies have initiated the partnership with a non-recurring engineering (NRE) agreement to further develop low-carbon technology for the conversion of critical metals, first virgin and later recycled material, into battery-grade cathode active material (CAM) precursors, which are essential to 6K Energy’s advanced cathode manufacturing. Aqua Metals is leading the development of the innovative conversion process, designed to replace chemical catalysts with clean electricity, and enables the sustainable production of cost-effective CAM precursors by eliminating embedded emissions, recurring expenses, and chemical waste byproducts. "Manufacturing a genuinely sustainable, lithium-ion battery within the U.S. demands new industrial competencies and leapfrog technologies like our UniMelt microwave plasma," said Thanh Nguyen, Senior VP of Deployment for 6K Energy. “Integrating 6K Energy’s low cost, ultra-sustainable cathode manufacturing capabilities at our PlusCAM factory with Aqua Metals’ low-carbon innovative conversion process sets a new standard in minimizing emissions in lithium battery manufacturing.” Addressing a primary challenge of next-generation battery manufacturing, 6K Energy and Aqua Metals are fostering a future where sustainable, high-performance lithium batteries are made in the U.S. from domestically sourced materials. Cathode active material is the most expensive component in a lithium battery, and it is currently manufactured almost exclusively in China. This partnership not only creates low-carbon resources for battery and electric vehicle manufacturers but also enables greater supply independence at a competitive cost and less production time than imported materials from foreign sources. "Aqua Metals believes that the key to sustainable energy lies in leveraging the full potential of recycled materials in manufacturing lithium-ion batteries, building a circular supply chain domestically, and minimizing the environmental impact of the clean energy industry,” said Steve Cotton, President & CEO of Aqua Metals. “Our commitment to pioneering low-carbon, closed-loop battery recycling powered by electricity aligns perfectly with 6K Energy's groundbreaking sustainable cathode manufacturing, and our partnership signifies a major step towards U.S. leadership in the next generation of net-zero battery materials and technologies.” 6K Energy was recently awarded a $50 million Department of Energy (DOE) grant opportunity that will partially fund the $200+ million PlusCAM factory in Jackson, TN, scheduled to open in 2025. The conversion process already in development is based on Aqua Metals’ patented and commercially-proven AquaRefining™ technology, and is designed to work with both virgin materials and sustainably recycled content supplied by Aqua Metals. As part of the strategic agreement, 6K Energy will fund the project for low carbon pCAM conversion in 2023, and the successful completion of the development project will lead to a long-term supply agreement between the two companies. The Companies plan to co-locate pCAM manufacturing with 6K Energy’s PlusCAM factory. PlusCAM will be the world’s first UniMelt® plasma cathode manufacturing plant, providing low cost, ultra-sustainable production of battery material in the U.S., with production capacity of 13,000 tons per annum (tpa). Aqua Metals currently operates the world’s first sustainable lithium battery recycling facility at its Li AquaRefining™ pilot and is developing a five-acre, 10,000tpa clean metals recycling campus nearby in the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center. Aqua Metals’ patented AquaRefining recycling technology recovers critical metals from spent lithium batteries using electricity in a closed loop, lowering emissions, and reducing landfill waste by 95% compared to current battery recycling processes. About Aqua Metals Aqua Metals, Inc. is reinventing metals recycling with its patented AquaRefining™ technology. The company is pioneering a sustainable recycling solution for materials strategic to energy storage and electric vehicle manufacturing supply chains. AquaRefining™ is a low-emissions, closed-loop recycling technology that replaces polluting furnaces and hazardous chemicals with electricity-powered electroplating to recover valuable metals and materials from spent batteries with higher purity, lower emissions, and minimal waste. Aqua Metals is based in Reno, NV and operates the first sustainable lithium battery recycling facility at the company’s Innovation Center in the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center. To learn more, please visit www.aquametals.com About 6K Energy With sustainability at its core, 6K has developed UniMelt®, a proprietary advanced microwave plasma production system, to transform engineered materials into revolutionary products that advance industries across additive manufacturing, renewable energy, aerospace, consumer electronics, and more. 6K represents 6000 degrees, both the temperature of the operation of UniMelt®, the world’s only microwave production scale plasma system, and the temperature of the sun’s surface. 6K was founded in North Andover, Massachusetts. The 6K Energy division is focused on the production of low-cost, sustainable, and domestically produced battery material accelerating the pace of battery production and adoption of electric vehicles. The 6K Additive division specializes in sustainably sourced, AM metal powders production and reclamation, using a proprietary milling and cleaning process that ensures contamination-free, high-quality powders. For more information, visit www.6Kinc.com

Read More