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The Power of Partnerships

Mr. David Mortimore | February 5, 2021

At the cutting-edge of additive manufacturing technology, this new Xerox ElemX 3D Liquid Metal Printer is now operational in NPS’ Large Experiment Annex on campus. As the first site anywhere in the world to install this new technology, NPS students, faculty are presented with an extraordinary opportunity to lead the Navy and Marine Corps in 3D printing innovations in support of the warfighter.

“Xerox (XRX) climbed 4.4% after Wednesday announcing a strategic collaboration agreement with the Naval Postgraduate School to work on 3-D printing and manufacturing research. As part of the deal, Xerox in December installed one of its first ElemX liquid-metal printer at the Monterey, Calif., campus, providing students and faculty with hands-on experience with on-demand 3D printing of metal parts and equipment.” - Nasdaq.com

Under a Public Private Partnership agreement, a Xerox Liquid Metal Printer was installed on the Naval Postgraduate School’s (NPS’) campus in December 2020 and Xerox stock prices gained 4.4% after the collaborative effort to “[advance] additive manufacturing research, specifically 3D printing, which has the potential to dramatically transform the way the military supplies its forward-deployed forces,” was announced. (NPS Office of University Communications, 2021).

Assisting the nationwide S&T community thrive at the intersection of military, commercial, and academic research and development is one way NPS helps accelerate capability development and deployment while enriching the educational experience of students. A Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with Elroy Air is assisting with the development of the Chaparral Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) and supporting NPS student education and research. According to Elroy Air, the Chaparal is intended to serve as,

An end-to-end aerial cargo delivery system:

250-500lbs (100-225kg) payload
300mi (500km) range
No airport required
No electric charging station required
Efficient hybrid-electric powertrain
Autonomous flight and advanced safety architecture
Autonomous cargo loading and unloading

Exploring potential partnerships is one benefit Joint Interagency Field Experimentation (JIFX) Program participants enjoy when teams from Private Sector, Academia, and state and federal government agencies come together at quarterly collaborative experimentation events. To learn more about this Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering-sponsored program and the upcoming event the week of 1 March, visit JIFX’ site.