Application of Additive Manufacturing Technologies to Produce Entire Munitions

This effort will perform a full evaluation of the state of the art in additive manufacturing and how do you create a multimaterial supported process that is truly integrated. This involves understanding of the issues and the identification of the gaps to get to a fully printed munition. Including software that can integrate mechanical models with electrical ones. How do you integrate multimaterials into a production line that requires different feedstock formatsinks, pastes, filaments, pellets and powders and process to fabricate a fully functional munition Logistics of the design, fabrication process and materials. Market drivers of each element of the infrastructure needs to be assessed. Data management and cybersecurity of design and fabrication files will be assessed. All digital controlled processes will be evaluated.This effort will identify the what is state and compare to the desired future state generating a gap analysis in order to identify the missing hard parts and focus attention to these identified elements. The result is a recommended pilot line for printing 40mm munitions. The journey is long but it has begun and the opportunity that this program presents will change how the future of munitions will be manufactured.