SBIR Phase I: Automated Assembly of Discrete Cellular Structures

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is the development of architected, cellular materials at large scales. Size constraints of 3D printing can be overcome by discrete assembly of modular, mass-produced parts. This approach benefits from incremental assembly, which eliminates scale limitations and enables best-practice manufacturing for reliable, low-cost part production, and interchangeability through a consistent assembly process across part types.

Further, the system can be automated. Precision and repeatability are embedded in the parts themselves. This project will match state-of-the-art performance metrics while reducing reliance on fixed tooling, offering customization for user-defined products.

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will address issues of large-scale, digital manufacturing by introducing a new type of material based on modular, cellular units. In contrast to continuous, layer-based, additive deposition processes, this approach relies on discrete assembly. Here, global geometries are defined by local constraints, errors can be incrementally detected and corrected, heterogeneous parts can be joined, and parts can be repaired, reused, and recycled.

The goals of this project are to define a material system (constituent material, unit cell geometry, and fastening solution) that can achieve high stiffness-to-weight ratios at low cost. Such properties do not currently exist in a single monolithic material; rather, they are achieved through expensive processes to shape traditional materials into complex geometries.

These methods are labor-intensive and have significant capital expenditure for tooling. This project will demonstrate the ability of discrete lattice materials to match state-of-the-art while offering cost reductions through automation, reduction in factory overhead, and performance benefits unachievable with traditional methods. Analytical and numerical models will be used to project performance and cost at larger scales (greater than one hundred meters).

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.