US-based
Supernova Industries Corp, which is headquartered in Austin, Texas, has been awarded a $2 million sub-contract by the American Centre for Manufacturing and Innovation (ACMI) to 3-D print military-grade ‘energetic materials’.
Roger Antunez, Supernova’s founder and CEO, said: “Our technology has the potential to overcome the design constraints of conventional manufacturing methods to produce the next generation of military-grade energetic material components, including solid rocket motors (SRMs), explosives, and pyrotechnics.
“Our proprietary viscous lithography manufacturing (VLM) technology is a lithography-based additive manufacturing (AM) process that uses a transparent film to transfer high viscosity materials onto a build platform, where they are cured by light to form printed parts. Unlike conventional processes that require low-viscosity resins, VLM can handle materials of ‘unlimited viscosity’, thereby enabling new formulations such as the high solid-loading used in energetic materials.
“We have already been successful in printing simulant energetic materials and are currently developing the printing of energetic formulas. These will represent a major breakthrough in the field of additive manufacturing.”
Mr Antunez concluded: “Military-grade energetic materials are capable of rapidly releasing significant amounts of energy through chemical and physical reactions; and while these materials are necessary for the proper functioning of defense systems, traditional processing techniques limit their potential. Supernova’s new VLM processing techniques will provide key innovations crucial to enhance safety, ensure material consistency, reduce waste stream, and unlock new performance capabilities.”