Jump to navigation

The University of Arizona Wordmark Line Logo White
College of Engineering
Home
  • Home
  • Give Today
  • Contact Us

Search form

  • About
    • Welcome
    • Contact Us
  • Undergrad Programs
    • Admissions
    • Degrees
    • Courses
    • Advising
    • Scholarships & Financial Aid
    • Research & Internships
    • Student Clubs & Organizations
    • ABET Accreditation
  • Grad Programs
    • Admissions
    • Degrees
    • Courses
    • Advising
    • Research Focus Areas
    • Funding
  • Research
    • Focus Areas
    • Facilities
  • Faculty & Staff
    • Faculty Directory
    • Staff Directory
    • Employee Resources
    • Open Positions
  • Alumni
    • Give Today
  • News & Events
    • MSE News Archive
    • Events
News & Events
Home / News & Events / Tin and Wessman Leading $1.2M Hypersonics 3D Printing Project

Tin and Wessman Leading $1.2M Hypersonics 3D Printing Project

Friday, May 12, 2023
Sammy Tin, left, holds metal 3D-printed hip replacement parts. Andrew Wessman holds metal 3D-printed jet engine parts.

MSE department head and professor Sammy Tin and MSE assistant professor Andrew Wessman are developing new materials to 3D-print objects designed to withstand speeds of more than 3,500 mph. The researchers recently secured a $1.2 million grant from the Office of Naval Research's Defense University Research Instrumentation Program, which will fund a suite of new equipment to support the work and contribute to the Arizona Research Center for Hypersonics.

The pair, who together hold over a dozen patents in alloy development, will create novel metallic alloys optimized to be used in the additive manufacturing process and to withstand the extreme conditions of hypersonic flight, particularly at high temperatures and stress levels.

The Office of Naval Research grant will fund an array of instruments, including a powder bed fusion system to melt and fuse powders together; a gas atomization system, which allows molten liquid metal to be sprayed in ultra-fine droplets used to produce powder; a vacuum furnace for post-processing of 3D-printed objects; and an X-ray diffractometer, which can examine and characterize the inner structure of the 3D-printed objects.

"Combining all these pieces will give us a unique capability in terms of the infrastructure for advanced manufacturing," Tin said. "If we can develop materials and alloys that are specific to the 3D-printing process, we can customize alloy chemistries so that they have attributes that make it easier or more friendly for 3D printing."

  • NEWS & EVENTS
  • MSE News Archive
  • Events
  • Employee Resources
The University of Arizona
Department of Materials Science & Engineering
1235 E. James E. Rogers Way 
P.O. Box 210012
Tucson, AZ 85721-0012
520.621.6070

Facebook 

 


University Privacy Statement

© 2023 The Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of The University of Arizona.