Advancing additive manufacturing to serve the nation’s manufacturers and military
CSDM researchers create new approaches to manufacturing, materials, design, modeling, and evaluation – so products that protect national security and support critical supply chains can be created more efficiently and effectively.
Unique additive manufacturing processes and equipment
CSDM focuses on developing first-of-its-kind techniques and instruments to meet current and future manufacturing needs across many different types of materials:
- advanced high-performance metals and alloys
- advanced steels
- ceramics
- concrete
CSDM creates solutions for the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy and industrial partners in 12,000 sq ft of lab space on the Iowa State University campus and in Davenport, Iowa.
Unique collaboration and expertise
CSDM brings together researchers from across the College of Engineering:
- Peter Collins, materials engineering
- Yang Du, materials engineering
- Eric Faierson, materials engineering
- Matt Frank, industrial engineering
- Jakob Hamilton, industrial engineering
- Qing Li, industrial engineering
- Saikat Mukherjee, mechanical engineering
- Sougata Roy, mechanical engineering
CSDM also works with other faculty and centers to meet the needs of individual research projects.
Research in action: higher performance, lower weight, less waste
CSDM is developing new techniques to manufacture airplane wings from “gradient materials,” or materials that are designed to perform as needed in a specific area of a part.
Traditional wings are made of many different components, bolted together, resulting in heavier structures and more points of potential failure.
But, an airplane wing 3D printed from gradient materials could mean a higher performing yet lighter, more efficient structure with less waste and less dependency on traditionally foreign-sourced materials. CSDM is also integrating quality assurance, such as nondestructive evaluation, directly into the design, materials selection, and manufacturing to ensure safe performance.