America Makes, based in Youngstown, Ohio, and the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (NCDMM), headquartered in Blairsville, Pennsylvania, selected Nikon AM as a project partner. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems was named the group leader in August.
GOTHAAM stands for Generation of Technical-data for High-strength Aluminum Alloy Material. The project aims to develop material data for a corrosion-resistant aluminum alloy equivalent to 7075-T73. The data will cover Laser Beam Powder Bed Fusion (PBF-LB) additive manufacturing systems in large, medium and small formats.
The aim is to support production of aerospace-grade aluminum components for defense and commercial applications.
John Martin, additive manufacturing research director at America Makes, said in August: “By delivering validated data and maturing LPBF capability, we’re giving US manufacturers what they need to produce reliable components for critical defense systems.”
Dr Behrang Poorganji, vice president of technology at Nikon AM, said the company would contribute its experience and large-format Nikon SLM Solutions laser powder bed fusion systems to the project.