Super Discovery: Very Large Format 3D Printing for military UAVs

After reading the title of this post, you may be thinking that the Super Discovery is merely a very large version of a standard 3D Production System.

Well, this is not the case: Some of the Super Discovery’s specifications are a bit unusual for 3D Production Systems. The minimum layer size, for example, is 0.5 mm, which may be perhaps not surprising. But the largest possible layer size, one that might be used when 3D printing large items, is 10 mm.

The manufacturer has installed a hot end that is capable of hitting an astonishing 450 ºC, making the Super Discovery able to attempt 3D printing of many strong engineering materials... in huge sizes. Their high-performance material capability is extremely interesting because it opens up the possibility of 3D Printing large production components for military UAVs, among other applications.   

This enormous 3D printer that uses pellets as input material, is developed and produced in Spain by a company that began developing 3D Printing technology five years ago. Prior to that, and still occurring, is their marketing of other manufacturing equipment, including CNCs, lasers, and the like.

What is the price of this massive machine? Well, it depends, because each machine is custom built. But you will find more info at:

http://integral3dprinting.com/impresoras-3d/gama-discovery-3d-printer/super-discovery/

Additive Manufacturing to Winning Future Wars: Modernization and a 21st Century Defense Industrial Base

Historically, changes in military technologies have often occurred in clusters, reflecting major advances in the sciences, manufacturing processes, the organization of economic activities, and even political structures. Nowadays, defense leaders are seeking to secure their military-technological superiority by investing in new areas of Industry 4.0 such as Additive Manufacturing, Advanced Materials, Big Data Analytics, Etc.

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Additive Manufacturing and UAV usage by terror groups: exploring variation in adoption

Judging by recent media reporting and pronouncements by senior US military and security officials, the use of UAVs by terror groups is both reshaping conflict between armed non-state actors and state parties and now presents a grave and direct threat to nations in the West and elsewhere.

But does this threat warrant the attention it is currently receiving? To answer this question, this article surveys how various terror groups have used UAVs both tactically on the battlefield and for wider strategic purposes. Closely examining how UAVs have been employed and by whom provides a basis for understanding variation in adoption.

The article shows how UAV usage or non-usage is highly contingent on the setting of the conflict, the aims of different groups, and the capacity of groups to adopt the technology. Though advances in UAV technology could make the use-case more appealing for militant groups, UAVs will be subject to the same back-and-forth, techno-tactical adaptation dynamic between adversaries that have accompanied prior military innovations.

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Additive Manufacturing of military UAVs: The Evolution of Small, Smart, and Cheap Weapons

Dramatic improvements in robotics, artificial intelligence, additive manufacturing (also known as 3D printing), and nanoenergetics are dramatically changing the character of conflict in all domains.

In the last few years, additive manufacturing, also known as 3D printing, has gone from an interesting hobby to an industry producing a wide range of products from an ever-growing list of materials: The global explosion of additive manufacturing means it is virtually impossible to provide an up-to-date list of materials that can be printed, but the top-4-most-wanted list for the military industry would include metals, thermoplastics, composites and ceramics.

In addition to a wide range of materials, additive manufacturing has gone from being able to make only a few prototypes to being able to produce parts in large or very large formats. At the same time, additive manufacturing is dramatically increasing the complexity of objects it can produce, while simultaneously improving speed and precision.

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IMPRESION 3D EN GRAN FORMATO PARA LA FABRICACIÓN COMPLETA DE UAVs

Parece cada vez más claro que el futuro de la fabricación de UAVs está en la fabricación aditiva.

Esto es así porque las ventajas propias de esta manera de fabricar (reducción de costes y tiempos, libertad de diseño, etc.) unido a la oferta creciente de materiales para Impresión 3D, convierten a la manufactura aditiva en la elección óptima para el desarrollo y fabricación de UAVs.

Sin embargo, existe un factor clave a la hora de pensar en Manufactura Aditiva para la fabricación de UAVs, que ha pasado un poco desapercibido para la gran mayoría de fabricantes de sistemas de Impresión 3D, y no es otro que el tamaño de la pieza a fabricar.

Es por esto que nos ha llamado la atención una gama de Impresoras 3D que, por el tamaño de las piezas que son capaces de fabricar, y por la gama de materiales disponibles, creemos que merece la pena sacarlas a escena en este blog.

Estas impresoras están desarrolladas y fabricadas por una empresa que desde el año 2009 se dedica al diseño y fabricación de fresadoras CNC, láser de CO2, y láser de fibra, y que en 2016 amplió su gama de productos hacia la Impresión 3D en formatos LF y VLF.

Entre sus clientes podemos encontrar firmas de reconocido prestigio como Navantia, CAF o B/S/H Electrodomésticos, lo cual nos da una idea del tipo de cliente y de sus aplicaciones.

El distribuidor en exclusiva de estas máquinas es Integral 3D Printing Iberia, y ofrece esta firma una información muy completa de estas y otras máquinas a través de su página web: (http://integral3dprinting.com/impresoras-3d/gama-discovery-3d-printer/discovery-3d-printer/) 

The methodology of documenting cultural heritage sites using photogrammetry, UAV, and 3D printing techniques: the case study of Asinou Church in Cyprus

As the affordability, reliability and ease-of-use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) advances, the use of aerial surveying for cultural heritage purposes becomes a popular choice, yielding an unprecedented volume of high-resolution, geo-tagged image-sets of historical sites from above.

As well, recent developments in photogrammetry technology provide a simple and cost-effective method of generating relatively accurate 3D models from 2D images. These techniques provide a set of new tools for archaeologists and cultural heritage experts to capture, store, process, share, visualise and annotate 3D models in the field.

This paper focuses on the methodology used to document the cultural heritage site of Asinou Church in Cyprus using various state of the art techniques, such as UAV, photogrammetry and 3D printing. Hundreds of images of the Asinou Church were taken by a UAV with an attached high resolution, low cost camera. These photographic images were then used to create a digital 3D model and a 3D printer was used to create a physical model of the church.

Such a methodology provides archaeologists and cultural heritage experts a simple and cost-effective method of generating relatively accurate 3D models from 2D images of cultural heritage sites.

(Read more...)

Emerging Threats: Cyber-Physical Attacks on Additive Manufactured UAV Parts

Additive Manufacturing (AM, or 3D printing) is an emerging manufacturing technology with far-reaching implications: AM is increasingly used to produce functional parts, including components for safety-critical systems, but its unique capabilities and dependence on computerization raise a concern that an AM generated part could be sabotaged by a cyber-physical attack.

In this paper, it is demonstrated the validity of this concern by presenting a novel attack: reducing the fatigue life of a 3D-printed quadcopter propeller, causing its mid-flight failure, ultimately leading to the quadcopter’s fall and destruction.

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Trends in Israeli Military Innovation

It should not be surprising that Israel has become a leader in military innovation given the demands of national security. Among the technologies that it has advanced are Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). Even though other nations have conducted experiments with these vehicles, Israel developed and fielded them as battlefield systems.

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Structure Analysis and Optimization of Transitioning UAV

With the aim to develop more efficient aircraft configurations, the Blended-Wing-Body (BWB) Unmanned Aerial Vehicles have grown attention in recent years. Compared to conventional aircraft configurations, the BWB structure has several advantages in aerodynamics and fuel efficiency.

Topology Optimization (TO) is also a relatively new structure optimization approach which has applied successfully in automotive industry for a considerable time. In this paper, topology optimization method will be applied on a special BWB structure UAV called BITU on both 2D and 3D models in ABAQUS.

The optimization goal is to minimize compliance energy under specified loading and boundary conditions which will be computed in modeling and simulation section. Finally, optimized result compared to initial design will demonstrate TO is a rational and efficient design tool for structure optimization, especially in Aircraft industry.

Enhancing aerospace engineering students' learning with 3D printing wind‐tunnel models

The purpose of this paper is to present the benefits offered by Rapid Prototyping (RP) models for wind‐tunnel testing as part of fourth‐year aerospace engineering student projects.

Ways of overcoming some of the difficulties associated with the 3D Printing Technology are also discussed.

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Innovative Approach for Future Aircraft Development at IAI

A description of the innovative approach of airplane development at Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) Engineering & Development Group is presented.

The approach is a structured process including several steps and is the key to new product introduction. The first step is the generation of ideas, followed by a feasibility study and a product definition.

These steps are preliminary for either a demonstration program or a full-scale development program. The paper defines the innovation and describes the main elements, including the market demand evaluation, technologies evolution and product characteristics definition.

Typical examples of results of the innovation process at IAI are the Heron I Unmanned Air Vehicle (UAV) and the Mosquito micro UAV. Planned programs are the next generation of a Very Light Jet (VLJ), more autonomous aircraft, Autonomous Personal Air Vehicle (APAV) and in parallel the evaluation of electrical propulsion, solar UAV and other directions. 

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¿May the Industry 4.0 Challenge the U.S. Tactical Dominance?

The convergence of dramatic improvements in the fields of robotics, artificial intelligence, materials, additive manufacturing and nanoenergetics is dramatically changing the character of conflict in all domains.

This convergence is creating a massive increase in capabilities available to increasingly smaller political entities—extending even to the individual. This new diffusion of power has major implications for the conduct of warfare, not the least of which are the major hazards or opportunities that it presents to medium and even small powers.

The outcome will depend on the paths they choose.

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Advanced Technologies and Approaches for Next Generation UAVs

This paper presents the advanced technologies and approaches which potentially form the basis for determining the “Next Step” in the capabilities of unmanned air vehicles (UAVs), from the aspect of improvements in flight performance, operational safety, readiness and operating costs.

These technologies are currently under development but additional effort will be required to achieve a maturity level of technological availability.

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Effect of twist morphing wing segment on aerodynamic performance of UAV

The design space for morphing wings is incredibly broad and allows for a wide range of improvements versus fixed wing aircrafts such that each type of morphing can be useful for different purposes.

This work introduces a novel concept for a twist morphing wing segment where only a segment of the wing is actuated which causes a rotation of the tip of the wing while the base segment fixed.

The morphing segment consists of a smart soft composite structure made from PDMS (Polydimethylsiloxane) and PLA (Polylactic acid) which is actuated by multiple embedded SMA (Styrene maleic anhydride) wires.

This structure was implemented in a UAV-sized wing and was tested both in still-air conditions and in an open-type wind tunnel to determine the actual impact of this mode of actuation.

Results show that this concept can improve the aerodynamic properties of the wing, particularly at low angles of attack.

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Cloud-Based Automated Design and Additive Manufacturing: A Usage Data-Enabled Paradigm Shift

Integration of sensors into various kinds of products and machines provides access to in-depth usage information as basis for product optimization.

Presently, this large potential for more user-friendly and efficient products is not being realized because:

(a) sensor integration and thus usage information is not available on a large scale

and

(b) product optimization requires considerable efforts in terms of manpower and adaptation of production equipment.

However, with the advent of cloud-based services and highly flexible Additive Manufacturing techniques, these obstacles are currently crumbling away at rapid pace.

The present study explores the state of the art in gathering and evaluating product usage and life cycle data, Additive Manufacturing and sensor integration, automated design and cloud-based services in manufacturing.

By joining and extrapolating development trends in these areas, it delimits the foundations of a manufacturing concept that will allow continuous and economically viable product optimization on a general, user group or individual user level.

This projection is checked against three different application scenarios, each of which stresses different aspects of the underlying holistic concept. The following discussion identifies critical issues and research needs by adopting the relevant stakeholder perspectives.

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Reverse Engineering through 3D Scan Data

Optical 3D Scanners cannot pick up all data points and render a complete scan due to differences of surface texture, color, and obstructed lines of sight.

In 2010, MACH-T3 evaluated numerous 3D Scanners and software to add more tools to their business. They chose Geomagic Design X software because it was the only software on the market that could make parametric CAD models from 3D Scan Data.

Yemen Shoot Falls UAV

The Yemeni military is rumored to have shot down a Houthi militia UAV in the Hodeidah region. Furthermore, the UAV is believed to be made by Iran.

The UK looses the 16% of their Watchkeeper's Fleet

Developed from the Israeli-developed Elbit Hermes 450, the Watchkeeper is operated by the British Army as an unarmed Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition, and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) platform.

The UAV came down close to the airfield from which it was operating, bringing to five the number of Watchkeepers that have now been lost. The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) confirmed the incident but declined to divulge details, except to say that an investigation has been launched.

With 54 air vehicles having been acquired, the army is now down to 49 as a result of its losses. A senior service official previously told Jane’s that expected attrition losses were built into the original number of Watchkeepers procured, though it was noted that this was to enable the platform to be used in less permissive environments rather than to cover for expected accidents.

AARTOS: A brief look

AP-Flyer manufacture innovative and technologically advanced Aaronia's Drone Detection System AARTOS (Advanced Automatic RF Tracking and Observation Solution).

The System is used to detect the incursion of unwanted drones, based on the directional real-time measurement of the electromagnetic emissions of drones. It warns the operator when drones are in the area and sends alerts. 

Top 3 Additive Manufacturing OEMs for UAVs

No doubt I have left out many interesting OEMs, but now and today, am I convinced these are the top three, taking into account just its versatility when manufacturing end-use parts for UAVs.

1: Stratasys

2: 3D Systems

3: EOS

Their three shared main advantages are their efficiency, their reliability, and their range of materials. Again: I have left out many interesting OEMs, but the market is moving on, and I think we will see interesting developments in a mid term future.

DroneDeploy launches Thermal Live Map

DroneDeploy, a drone software company with the largest drone data platform in the world, today announced the launch of Thermal Live Map, a real-time mobile mapping solution which delivers insights only thermal imagery can reveal.

A first-of-its-kind feature, Thermal Live Map visualizes temperature range variability and creates instant thermal maps for quick, data-guided decisions on the job site. DroneDeploy is the leading cloud software platform for commercial drones, and is making the power of aerial data accessible and productive for everyone.

Trusted by leading brands globally, DroneDeploy is transforming the way businesses leverage UAVs and aerial data across industries, including agriculture, construction, mining, inspection, and surveying. Simple by design, DroneDeploy enables professional-grade imagery and analysis, 3D modeling and more from any UAV on any device. 

The new solution is particularly valuable for firefighting, giving firefighters the ability to see through smoke and keep track of their personnel in large fire scenes. Thermal Live Map also helps locate precisely where the fire is hottest and provides definitive confirmation the fire is extinguished in specific areas. Thermal Live Map allows first responders to view hundreds of acres in minutes —day or night— penetrating hard-to-reach and hard-to-see terrain where missing or injured persons may be awaiting rescue. 

Thermal Live Map also helps growers spot field stress in real time. They identify irrigation issues, detect ripeness, and analyze plant health early to solve problem areas and avoid lost harvests. "Thermal mapping is one of the most common and difficult requests from our customers to date, but the reward equals the challenge," said Mike Winn, CEO of DroneDeploy. "Live Map makes thermal insights more accessible while increasing safety and efficiency on job sites." 

The new solution uses the latest advancements in edge computing to generate thermal drone maps locally on iOS devices as a DJI drone flies.

Hexadrone shows Tundra-M at Eurosatory 2018

Hexadrone's Tundra-M UAV is showcased at Eurosatory 2018, Paris Nord Villepinte, booth F528 Hall 6. The event is held from June 11th to June 15th. It is the first 100% customizable UAV for users specialized in defense and rescue.

The UAV’s body and arms have been manufactured in Windform® SP (body) and Windform® XT 2.0 (arms). The rapidly detachable arms and three quick release attaches make the Tundra-M extremely flexible to meet the needs of any profession, while making operational conditions easier to maintain.

Tundra-M is Hexadrone’s first fully modular and easy-to-use UAV for industrial and multi-purpose tasks, made for extreme weather conditions thanks to rugged, waterproof design. Tundra-M is the most advanced professional UAV created by Hexadrone.

Tundra-M 3D printed functional prototype has been manufactured by CRP Technology via professional 3D printing using Windform® Carbon-composite materials. Windform® XT 2.0 and Windform® SP are Carbon-fiber reinforced composite 3D printing materials from Windform family of high performance materials.

Windform was created by CRP Technology, CRP Group’s specialized company in advanced 3D printing and additive manufacturing solutions.

Research supporting principles for DFAM

Additive Manufacturing (AM) technologies enable the fabrication of parts and devices that are geometrically complex, have graded material compositions, and can be customised.

To take advantage of these capabilities, it is important to guide engineering designers through the various issues that are unique to AM. We explore the range of principles that are relevant to Design For Additive Manufacturing (DFAM) in this paper.

These include ideas about generating designs that cannot be fabricated using conventional methods to understanding the realities of existing machines and materials to micro-scale issues related to material microstructures and resulting process variations.

Comments about standardisation efforts in the ASTM and ISO organisations are also included.

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Additive Manufacturing of Cellular Structures

Additive Manufacturing technologies enable the fabrication of parts and devices that are geometrically complex, have graded material compositions, and can be customized.

To take advantage of these capabilities, it is important to assist designers in exploring unexplored regions of design spaces. This paper explores the opportunities and challenges in design for additive manufacturing.

A new computer-aided Design For Additive Manufacturing (DFAM) method is presented that is based on the process-structure-property-behavior model common in the materials design community.

Examples of cellular materials design and manufacturing are used to illustrate the DFAM method.

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Equispheres: Technology to atomize aluminium alloys

Equispheres has created a technology for producing perfectly spherical metal powder with specific characteristics desired within the aerospace and automotive industries because these powders yield higher performance and maintenance capabilities. Equispheres developed the technology to atomize aluminum alloys. 

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Additive Manufacturing of Wind Sensors for UAVs

According to Fred Squire, Director of Sales and Marketing at FT Technologies, “The FT205 is the first in a new generation of lightweight ultrasonic wind sensors. The light weight of the FT205 together with the proven FT ACU-RES technology make it ideal for use on aerial UAVs and other applications where weight is critical.”

FT Technologies, a British company specializing in the development and production of ultrasonic wind sensors, has reportedly launched its first UAV-specific and 3D printed device. FT Technologies’ FT205 is designed to aid UAV users in environmental projects and to execute more reliable flights.

Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) technology has been used to make the device, achieving a weight of just 100g. According to reports, the material used is a graphite and nylon composite. The device works in extreme environments, at a maximum altitude of 4.000 m and in temperatures between -20 and +70°C.

The FT205 sensor has been 3D printed by fellow British company Graphite Additive Manufacturing (Graphite AM) a specialist service bureau and consultancy firm. The FT205 uses acoustic resonance technology to deliver environmental information about the wind speed, direction and temperature, bases on minute vibrations in the device, and an in-built compass. A versatile piece of equipment, it can be plugged into an UAV’s input/output communications, mounted on a flat surface, or attached to a pole.

Design for Additive Manufacturing

Design For Manufacturing (DFM) has typically meant that designers should tailor their designs to eliminate manufacturing difficulties and minimize manufacturing, assembly, and logistics costs.

However, the capabilities of Additive Manufacturing (AM) technologies provide an opportunity to rethink DFM to take advantage of the unique capabilities of these technologies:

1) Shape complexity: It is possible to build virtually any shape.

2) Hierarchical complexity: Hierarchical multiscale structures can be designed and fabricated from the microstructure through geometric mesostructure (sizes in the millimeter range) to the part-scale macrostructure

3) Material complexity: Material can be processed one point, or one layer, at a time.

4) Functional complexity: Fully functional assemblies and mechanisms can be fabricated directly using AM processes.

These unique capabilities enable new opportunities for customization, very significant improvements in product performance, multifunctionality, and lower overall manufacturing costs.

In the case of UAVs, AM technology enables low-volume manufacturing, easy integration of design changes and, at least as importantly, piece part reductions to greatly simplify product assembly.

(Read more)

ScanEagle helps to seize $1.5 billion of cocaine and heroin

In 2016, Insitu won the contract to provide sUAS ISR services aboard one National Security Cutter, the USCGC STRATTON.

By January 2018, ScanEagle had directly assisted the ship's crews in seizing more than $1.5 billion of cocaine and heroin, contributing to the USCG's record-breaking year for drug busts in 2017.

Insitu is an industry-leading provider of information for superior decision making. With offices in the U.S., U.K., and Australia, the company creates and supports unmanned systems and software technology that deliver end-to-end solutions for collecting, processing and understanding sensor data.

Additive Manufacturing of Spare Parts for U.S. Air Force lacks clear policy

Defense companies are using 3D Printing more often today to build parts for weapons: Aerojet Rocketdyne is using the technology to build rocket engines, Huntington Ingalls is using it to build warships and Boeing is 3D printing parts for its commercial, defense, and space products.

"Someday, the military will 3D-print missiles as needed" says Will Roper, the U.S. Air Force’s acquisition chief. In the shorter term, he just wants to use Additive Manufacturing Technology to get broken planes back in the air. But there is a legal, not technical, roadblock: Today’s 3D-printers could make short work of part deliveries, but some of those parts’ original manufacturers control the intellectual property — and so far, the service lacks clear policy for dealing with that.

Dark Sword: The New Chinese Nightmare

China has unveiled an unmanned fighter jet named "Dark Sword" that could fly at supersonic speeds and prove a 'nightmare' for US defence systems.

Dark Sword represents a very different design philosophy than US unmanned combat plans, and could give China a huge advantage if its military is able to mass-produce the aircraft, as it could rapidly expand its fighter fleet without training new pilots: In words of Justin Bronk, expert at the Royal United Services Institute "If produced in large numbers without having to train pilots, could at the very least soak up missiles from US fighters, and at the very best be an effective fighter by itself.''

Much about Dark Sword remains a mystery, but experts believe it is capable of flying like a fighter jet. This hints China is building the aircraft for use as a combat jet rather than a reconnaissance or precision missile strike vehicle, like the unmanned MQ-1 Predator drone used by US forces.

Verity Studios: Drone failsafe technology

Outdoor drone shows are growing in popularity – but indoor drone shows as a part of events and spectacles are even bigger.

So much so that Swiss-based Verity Studios, the leading developer of indoor drone systems, says that their clients have completed more than 30,000 autonomous flights safely above people, across 20 countries worldwide.

That safety and reliability comes from Verity’s “drone failsafe technology.”  Proven in the 30,000 flights referenced above, the company also hopes to work with drone manufacturers to include the technology into their platforms.

The drones have been featured in events from Cirque du Soleil to concerts of heavy metal legends Metallica.  “Cirque du Soleil’s objective is always to surprise and amaze its audience, and the Verity flying machines are unquestionably one of the most important statements of the Paramour show,” said Jean-Francois Bouchard, Chief Creative Officer of Cirque du Soleil.