Unmanned Systems Technology 002 | Scion SA-400 | Commercial UAV Show report | Vision sensors | Danielson Trident I Security and safety systems | MIRA MACE | Additive manufacturing | Marine UUVs

68 A dditive Manufacturing (AM) is one of a number of widely used terms which refer to technologies that manufacture components on a layer-by-layer basis, typically direct from digital models. While terms such as 3D printing are more often used in the wider media, it is important to draw the distinction between that and the manufacturing technologies used industrially. Therefore this article will focus on those technologies that show a readiness for applications that have rigorous engineering performance requirements, such as those in the aerospace industry. AM technologies can be readily divided into two groups: plastic and metallic. Although some solutions are available that allow ceramic materials to be used, these are not generally mainstream. Plastic AM There are three primary AM technologies for making plastic components – fused deposition modelling (FDM), stereolithography (SLA) and selective laser sintering (SLS). FDM uses a heated extruder head to deposit plastic filaments Making components using an additive process is ideal for the unmanned systems industry. David Cooper explains what those processes are and how they work Spring 2015 | Unmanned Systems Technology It all adds up Design freedoms allow new design approaches to improve part performance (Courtesy of Concept Laser)