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Xerox liquid metal printer
Xerox’s ElemX Liquid Metal Printer is to be deployed at the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) in research efforts designed to transform US military supply to forward-deployed forces.
It represents the first installation of the Xerox ElemX 3D printing system.
Installed in December 2020 as part of a Collaborative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA), NPS is set to provide its faculty and students with hands-on access to a technology that, the partners believe, has the potential to deliver on-demand metal 3D printed parts that meet the rigours of the Navy and Marine Corps’ operational demands.
The Liquid Metal printing process, brought into Xerox through the acquisition of Vader Systems in 2019, works by loading non-specialty metal wire into the ElemX machine before feeding it through a heated reservoir where the metal is melted. The metal fills the ejection chamber, with material droplets then being ejected using a magnetic field from an external coil to build parts layer by layer. It is said to be able to deposit up to 1,000 liquid metal droplets per second and promises ‘results as good or better than traditional manufacturing methods.’
Read more: Interview | Xerox adds jetting expertise to liquid metal additive manufacturing tech
“The NPS Alumni Association and Foundation supported bringing the ElemX liquid metal printer to NPS because it will enable soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines to solve their problems where they are, when problems occur,” offered retired U.S. Marine Corps Col. Todd Lyons, Vice President of the NPS Alumni Association and Foundation. “By providing the right digital tools and the liquid metal printer, all of a sudden, we’ve helped transform not just the supply chain, but how the Department of Defence thinks operationally about supplying war.”
Faculty and students at the NPS, the Navy Department’s applied research university, will use these capabilities to carry out thesis research in a bid to develop new capabilities for the Navy and Marine Corps. In particular, the Department of Defence sees the technology’s capacity to enable on-demand production as a way of reducing the organisation’s dependency on global supply chains.
“Global supply chains leave industries like aerospace, automotive, heavy equipment, and oil and gas vulnerable to external risks,” commented Tali Rosman, Xerox Vice President and General Manager, 3D Printing. “Our goal is to integrate localised 3D printing into their operations and the real-time feedback from NPS gives us actionable data to continuously improve the ElemX.”
“This collaborative research effort with Xerox and the use of their 3D printing innovations is a great example of how NPS uniquely prepares our military students to examine novel approaches to create, make, prototype and manufacture capability wherever they are,” added NPS President retired Vice Adm, Ann Rondeau. “This partnership is about the strategic ability of the Navy to have sailors on ships with the capability through creativity and technology to advance their operations at sea. Through collaboration, NPS and Xerox are helping build a Navy for the 21st century.”
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