Dazhong Wu, an associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at the University of Central Florida, received a Young Faculty Award from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) on Mar. 27 to develop a new artificial intelligence-enabled approach for qualifying parts made through additive manufacturing.
The project aims to address barriers in industries such as healthcare, automotive, and aerospace that have not widely adopted 3D printing due to high costs and time-consuming testing processes. Wu’s research will focus on creating a machine learning model capable of predicting defects and mechanical performance in 3D printed materials.
Current metal additive manufacturing relies on expensive materials like titanium alloys and involves destructive trial-and-error testing cycles that increase costs. Wu said his method could help reduce reliance on these costly practices: “Using AI we can predict the mechanical performance of 3D printed parts with small amounts of destructive and non-destructive testing data. With this, we can ensure every part is consistent, reliable and less costly.”
The two-year DARPA grant provides nearly $500,000 in funding with an optional third year for an additional $500,000 if progress continues as planned. Once developed, Wu hopes his AI model will be used across various sectors to improve efficiency in manufacturing critical components. “I’m hopeful this AI-enabled additive manufacturing qualification framework will be used across many industries, including aerospace and many more,” Wu says. “Bringing costs down is crucial to the additive manufacturing industry. To do that, we need to make sure every part consistently meets performance requirements.”
Wu joined UCF in 2017 after working at Penn State University’s Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering as a senior research associate. In addition to managing UCF’s Additive Manufacturing and Intelligent Systems Lab within the College of Engineering and Computer Science, he was named one of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers’ top twenty most influential academics in additive manufacturing in 2021.
According to the university statement about this project sponsored by DARPA: The content does not necessarily reflect government policy or position nor imply official endorsement.
