Skip to main content

PNNL

  • About
  • News & Media
  • Careers
  • Events
  • Research
    • Scientific Discovery
      • Biology
        • Chemical Biology
        • Computational Biology
        • Ecosystem Science
        • Human Health
          • Cancer Biology
          • Exposure Science & Pathogen Biology
          • Metabolic Inflammatory Diseases
        • Integrative Omics
          • Advanced Metabolomics
          • Chemical Biology
          • Mass Spectrometry-Based Measurement Technologies
          • Spatial and Single-Cell Proteomics
          • Structural Biology
        • Microbiome Science
          • Biofuels & Bioproducts
          • Human Microbiome
          • Soil Microbiome
          • Synthetic Biology
      • Chemistry
        • Computational Chemistry
        • Chemical Separations
        • Chemical Physics
        • Catalysis
      • Earth & Coastal Sciences
        • Atmospheric Science
          • Atmospheric Aerosols
          • Human-Earth System Interactions
          • Modeling Earth Systems
        • Coastal Science
        • Ecosystem Science
        • Plant Science
        • Subsurface Science
        • Terrestrial Aquatics
      • Materials Sciences
        • Materials in Extreme Environments
        • Precision Materials by Design
        • Science of Interfaces
        • Solid Phase Processing
          • Cold Spray
          • Friction Stir Welding & Processing
          • ShAPE
      • Nuclear & Particle Physics
        • Dark Matter
        • Flavor Physics
        • Fusion Energy Science
        • Neutrino Physics
      • Quantum Information Sciences
    • Sustainable Energy
      • Electric Grid Modernization
        • Emergency Response
        • Grid Analytics
          • AGM Program
          • Tools and Capabilities
        • Grid Architecture
        • Grid Cybersecurity
        • Grid Energy Storage
        • Grid Resilience and Decarbonization
          • Earth System Modeling
          • Energy System Modeling
        • Transmission
        • Distribution
      • Energy Efficiency
        • Appliance and Equipment Standards
        • Building Energy Codes
        • Building Technologies
          • Advanced Building Controls
          • Advanced Lighting
          • Building-Grid Integration
        • Building and Grid Modeling
        • Commercial Buildings
        • Federal Buildings
          • Federal Performance Optimization
          • Resilience and Security
        • Grid Resilience and Decarbonization
        • Residential Buildings
          • Building America Solution Center
          • Energy Efficient Technology Integration
          • Home Energy Score
        • Energy Efficient Technology Integration
      • Energy Storage
        • Electrochemical Energy Storage
        • Flexible Loads and Generation
        • Grid Integration, Controls, and Architecture
        • Regulation, Policy, and Valuation
        • Science Supporting Energy Storage
        • Chemical Energy Storage
      • Environmental Management
        • Waste Processing
        • Radiation Measurement
        • Environmental Remediation
      • Fossil Energy
        • Subsurface Energy Systems
        • Carbon Management
          • Carbon Capture
          • Carbon Storage
          • Carbon Utilization
        • Advanced Hydrocarbon Conversion
      • Nuclear Energy
        • Fuel Cycle Research
        • Advanced Reactors
        • Reactor Operations
        • Reactor Licensing
      • Renewable Energy
        • Solar Energy
        • Wind Energy
          • Distributed Wind
          • Wildlife and Wind
          • Wind Data Management
          • Wind Resource Characterization
        • Energy Equity & Health
        • Marine Energy
          • Environmental Monitoring for Marine Energy
          • Marine Biofouling and Corrosion
          • Marine Energy Resource Characterization
          • Testing for Marine Energy
          • The Blue Economy
        • Hydropower
          • Environmental Performance of Hydropower
          • Hydropower Cybersecurity and Digitalization
          • Hydropower and the Electric Grid
          • Materials Science for Hydropower
          • Pumped Storage Hydropower
          • Water + Hydropower Planning
        • Grid Integration of Renewable Energy
        • Geothermal Energy
      • Transportation
        • Bioenergy Technologies
          • Algal Biofuels
          • Aviation Biofuels
          • Waste-to-Energy and Products
        • Hydrogen & Fuel Cells
        • Vehicle Technologies
          • Emission Control
          • Energy-Efficient Mobility Systems
          • Lightweight Materials
          • Vehicle Electrification
          • Vehicle Grid Integration
    • National Security
      • Cybersecurity
        • Discovery and Insight
        • Proactive Defense
        • Trusted Systems
      • Nuclear Material Science
      • Nuclear Nonproliferation
        • Radiological & Nuclear Detection
        • Nuclear Forensics
        • Ultra-Sensitive Nuclear Measurements
        • Nuclear Explosion Monitoring
        • Global Nuclear & Radiological Security
      • Stakeholder Engagement
        • Disaster Recovery
        • Global Collaborations
        • Legislative and Regulatory Analysis
        • Technical Training
      • Systems Integration & Deployment
        • Additive Manufacturing
        • Deployed Technologies
        • Rapid Prototyping
        • Systems Engineering
      • Threat Analysis
        • Advanced Wireless Security
          • 5G Security
          • RF Signal Detection & Exploitation
        • Climate Security
        • Grid Resilience and Decarbonization
        • Internet of Things
        • Maritime Security
      • Chemical & Biothreat Signatures
        • Contraband Detection
        • Pathogen Science & Detection
        • Explosives Detection
        • Threat-Agnostic Biodefense
    • Data Science & Computing
      • Artificial Intelligence
      • Graph and Data Analytics
      • Software Engineering
      • Computational Mathematics & Statistics
      • High-Performance Computing
      • Visual Analytics
    • Lab Objectives
    • Publications & Reports
    • Featured Research
  • People
    • Inventors
    • Diversity & Inclusion
    • Lab Leadership
    • Lab Fellows
    • Staff Accomplishments
  • Partner with PNNL
    • Academia
      • Distinguished Graduate Research Programs
      • Internships
      • Visiting Faculty Program
      • Joint Appointments
      • Joint Institutes
      • Linus Pauling Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellowship
      • Minority-serving Institutions
    • Community
      • Regional Impact
      • STEM Education
        • Resources
        • Student STEM Ambassadors
        • STEM Ambassadors in the Classroom
      • Philanthropy
      • Volunteering
    • Industry
      • Available Technologies
      • Industry
      • Industry Partnerships
      • Licensing & Technology Transfer
      • Entrepreneurial Leave
  • Facilities & Centers
    • All Facilities
      • Atmospheric Radiation Measurement User Facility
      • Electricity Infrastructure Operations Center
      • Energy Sciences Center
      • Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory
      • Grid Storage Launchpad
      • Institute for Integrated Catalysis
      • Interdiction Technology and Integration Laboratory
      • PNNL Seattle Research Center
      • PNNL-Sequim
      • Radiochemical Processing Laboratory
      • Shallow Underground Laboratory

Breadcrumb

  1. Research
  2. National Security
  3. Systems Integration & Deployment
  4. Additive Manufacturing

Additive Manufacturing

A growing disruptive technology
and national security priority

Additive manufacturing research at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is focused on addressing the national security implications of additive manufacturing as an emerging threat.

  • Cybersecurity
  • Nuclear Material Science
  • Nuclear Nonproliferation
  • Stakeholder Engagement
  • Systems Integration & Deployment
    • Additive Manufacturing
    • Deployed Technologies
    • Rapid Prototyping
    • Systems Engineering
  • Threat Analysis
  • Chemical & Biothreat Signatures
  • News & Updates
  • Attend an Additive Manufacturing Event
  • Publications

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is developing science and technology to address the national security implications of additive manufacturing as an emerging threat. PNNL’s additive manufacturing research focus covers three main areas: signatures of 3D-printed samples, custom feedstock formulations, and pushing the art-of-the-possible on inexpensive machines to gain knowledge of capabilities and possible gaps in awareness.

Additive Manufacturing
Researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have the capability to 3D print chemical sensors that can absorb materials in hazardous environments and then tell scientists what was detected. (Photo by Eric Francavilla and Graham Bourque | Pacific Northwest National Laboratory)

Additive manufacturing is a disruptive technology; its ubiquity in the technology space has allowed anyone with a 3D printer and crowdsourced engineering to develop incredibly sophisticated, engineered systems. This poses an emerging threat to national security. PNNL researchers are gaining knowledge of the capabilities, and possible gaps in awareness, of inexpensive 3D printers by testing how far they can push these machines. Some examples of PNNL research follow:

  1. Advances in smartphone cameras and computational power have resulted in the use and deployment of mobile imaging and detection platforms for targeting bacterial pathogens that can cause disease. Compact and mobile, these designs promise field-ready technologies that will advance responses to biothreat events, patient point-of-care diagnostics, and animal disease screening. Bacillus anthracis is a bacterial pathogen that causes the disease anthrax. Researchers at PNNL developed a 3D-printed smartphone microscope and found, that in combination with a small bacterial growth chamber for the detection of Bacillus anthracis spores, they could reduce detection time by 50 percent compared to current methods.
  2. Fused deposition modelling has been adopted in both industrial and scientific fields as one of the most common and economical forms of additive manufacturing technologies. PNNL researchers have demonstrated the utility of fused deposition modelling printing in generating low-cost sensors that respond strongly and reproducibly to target vapors.
Additive Manufacturing at PNNL
A Pacific Northwest National Laboratory researcher reviews 3D print files to gain knowledge of the capabilities, and possible gaps in awareness, of inexpensive 3D printers. (Photo by Eric Francavilla and Graham Bourque | Pacific Northwest National Laboratory)

In addition to our work for the National Security Directorate, PNNL’s expertise in rapid prototyping extends to the Rapid Prototyping Lab. This team provides unique engineering services to sponsors, collaborators, and research staff as they work to bring to reality first-of-a-kind systems, materials, and components. The Rapid Prototyping Lab is a one-stop makerspace for all phases of a project, from prototype design to experimentation to field deployment.

Additive manufacturing research at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is focused on addressing the national security implications of additive manufacturing as a potential emerging threat. Our expertise includes identifying “signatures” of 3D-printed materials to identify intended uses, materials, and design, developing custom feedstocks, and expanding the capabilities of inexpensive printers to do state-of-the art things. (Video by Eric Francavilla and Graham Bourque | Pacific Northwest National Laboratory)

Research Topics

National Security Materials Sciences Scientific Discovery

Latest News

OCTOBER 6, 2021
Feature

A Colorful, Sustainable Solution for 3-D Printing

Read
Woman in lab coat holding rack of bioinks

PNNL

  • Get in Touch
    • Contact
    • Careers
    • Doing Business
    • Environmental Reports
    • Security & Privacy
    • Vulnerability Disclosure Program
  • Research
    • Scientific Discovery
    • Sustainable Energy
    • National Security
Subscribe to PNNL News
Department of Energy Logo Battelle Logo
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is managed and operated by Battelle for the Department of Energy
  • YouTube
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn