Affordable and Agile Composite Additive Manufactured Structures

Composites Additive Manufacturing, and particularly Continuous Fiber Additive Manufacturing (CFAM), are emerging technologies with vast potential to change the ways we design, fabricate, and field composite structures. The Department of the Air Force (DAF) requires the ability to deliver affordable mass across a variety of systems and products to counter peer adversary threats. These systems will need to do more, cost less, and address diverse and dynamic mission profiles that are not easily supportable with existing supply chains, design methodology, and fabrication practices. This talk will explore Air Force Research Laboratory efforts to mature agile, adaptable and scalable CFAM solutions to deliver affordable mass. The talk will also preview the Affordable and Agile Composites Additive Manufactured Structures (ACAMS) program and invite industry participation to define and prioritize the most pressing technology development and implementation challenges to address with future investment.