Disruptive Technologies for Direct Digital Manufacturing

The summary for the Disruptive Technologies for Direct Digital Manufacturing grant is detailed below. This summary states who is eligible for the grant, how much grant money will be awarded, current and past deadlines, Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) numbers, and a sampling of similar government grants. Verify the accuracy of the data FederalGrants.com provides by visiting the webpage noted in the Link to Full Announcement section or by contacting the appropriate person listed as the Grant Announcement Contact. If any section is incomplete, please visit the website for the Office of Naval Research, which is the U.S. government agency offering this grant.

Disruptive Technologies for Direct Digital Manufacturing: The objective of this effort is to develop principles for understanding materials processes and their dynamics in direct digital manufacturing (DDM) for manufacturability and especially, for spatial composition control, complex internal geometries, closed-loop process controls, minimum feature size and resolution, scalability, repeatability, dimensional accuracy and surface finish. Develop the digital representations and algorithms to enable compilation into an optimized process plan from engineering designs. Research areas of interest include, but are not limited to, the following that serve as distinct examples to illustrate where DDM research may have a significant impact: (1) Forming large structures from high temperature structural materials for use in extreme environments;(2) Developing tunable electronic and mechanical properties through spatial control of macrostructure (i.e. meta-materials) for power electronics and energy storage;(3) Establishing principles and means to make optical gradient index (GRIN) lenses with final spatial control over material composition, and therefore dispersion and refractive index. (4) Developing the use of rapid deployable building construction for emergency shelter or for setting up a remote base; (5) Tooling for cores and shells optimized for thin wall casting, e.g. of titanium alloys or materials for propulsion systems; (6) Spatially controlling tensor properties for transparent ceramic armor; or(7) Reducing substantially costs of customized complex miniature devices and structures through novel processes. A proposed research approach must explain the technological opportunities including structures not possible to manufacture by conventional means, known scientific and technical risks, and anticipated economic benefits, especially for the speed of production, agility in procurement, and affordability of mass customization.