Can I? Should I? Key Questions when Implementing Additive Manufacturing
Additive manufacturing (AM) technologies are the focus of many industries due to the potential benefits they offer in areas such as weight reduction, sustainability benefits, lead time reductions, and cost savings. Despite this focus, there is still significant room for learning around the key questions of, “Can I make this from AM?” and “Should I make this from AM?”
Matthew Crill remembers his dad advising him to consider metallurgy when he was trying to decide upon a major at the Colorado School of Mines. He remembers him talking about how all industries require materials expertise, and so this offers a wide variety of career opportunities. Perhaps he was just telling the familiar joke, “Why don’t scientists trust atoms? Because they make up everything,” but he recalled a more profound message.
Matt has been fortunate to have experiences working on a variety of different aviation platforms over the past 20+ years including his start with Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, and later in launch structures with the former ATK Space Systems, and commercial aircraft with Boeing Commercial Airplanes, all prior to joining The Barnes Global Advisors (TBGA) a year ago. Additive manufacturing has been a common research topic across each of these jobs, but so have other joining, consolidation, forming, and forging technologies combined with developing a variety of new metallic alloys. The questions facing AM today are no different than the ones dealt with when considering other advanced technologies, including first identifying the needs of an application. The focus is simply on identifying the right material for the right application, something commonly said by one of his prior directors.
The challenge of dealing with qualification and certification for AM is another area where the needs of the application are a key consideration. One of Matt’s career highlights is implementing titanium wire-DED structural parts into full-rate production on the Boeing 787 program, which was recognized with a 2018 Aviation Weekly Laureates Award. This activity required a dedicated project team committed to meeting a company-wide need to reduce the cost of titanium parts compared to hogouts from thick plate, while also demonstrating adherence to certification requirements for each individual application. One of the main keys to this project's success was identifying the right parts that would benefit from AM while also selecting parts in the early stages of the “crawl, walk, run” mentality for certifying new technologies.
In his current role at TBGA, Matt is working on a variety of projects, including helping provide technical support for BlueForge Alliance and the U.S. Marine Industrial Base (MIB). This activity includes the evaluation of wire-DED processes for potential casting replacements to help address supply chain challenges.
For Matt, a significant driver in joining the TBGA team was the opportunity to help apply these career experiences to even more types of applications while working alongside customers to solve their engineering challenges. This includes addressing the questions of “Can I make this from AM?” and “Should I make this from AM?”, when looking at individual parts or broader applications. The future of AM is bright and Matt is excited about being part of its ongoing growth across different industries.