The US army has begun the first flight tests on aircraft parts printed with HRL Laboratories’ additive aluminum feedstock. This is the first Army-designed 3D-printed part that has ever been flown.
HRL Laboratories has won an R&D 100 award in the Mechanical/Materials category for its 7A77 aluminum alloy powder project Nano-functionalized Alloys for Additive Manufacturing. High-strength aluminum alloy can be printed from the powder using standard additive manufacturing equipment, the first time this alloy has been 3D printable.