DARPA Project Rooted in Metalcasting

Skuld LLC, the Ohio investment casting and 3D-printing business, has joined a development project led by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to define ways to apply advanced technologies to convert scrap metal into usable components. Skuld - which also has developed technology for creating molds for near-net-shape castings - is part of the Rubble to Rockets (R2R) program, along with Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Foundry Casting Systems, MatMicronia LLC, and other contributors with expertise in materials science, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and advanced manufacturing.

“Through the R2R effort, we are evaluating casting approaches, alloy behavior, and the use of AI tools that expand options for producing components in challenging environments,” offered Skuld LLC CEO Sarah Jordan.

DARPA is the Pentagon-based organization tasked with researching and creating advanced technologies with military application. It started R2R in 2024 to develop technology for converting “scavenged, battlefield scrap material into critical, flight-ready components and structures.” They project a scenario in which debris is collected and sorted into basic materials (metal, concrete, electronics, etc.) and remade into useful tools using portable machinery.

Similarly, Skuld’s Additive Manufacturing Evaporative Casting (AMEC) process uses 3D-printed patterns for rapid investment casting without tooling, and that research is also focused on defining methods for producing components when standard supply chains are unavailable.

For DARPA’s R2R program, Skuld is developing “small, portable casting systems intended to enable on-demand part production in constrained environments. These early prototypes aim to support greater flexibility in defense and emergency operations.”

According to its announcement, Skuld also is contributing research into alloy characterization, casting evaluations, and AI-supported design methodologies. More specifically, this includes AI-assisted spark-testing for alloy identification and composition measurement.

It’s also working with WPI and MatMicronia on AI-based microstructure and mechanical material behavior prediction.

And Skuld is defining methods for producing various aluminum and steel alloys from scrap metal, including for thin-walled geometries and pressure vessels. The firm’s recent research results have demonstrated techniques for eliminating cracking in complex geometries, and the ability to achieve typical wrought strength from material that had only been cast and heat treated. A patent application has been filed related to aspects of this work for the ability to cast typical wrought grades such as 6061 and 7075, Skuld reported.