DIT has joined a four-institution research consortium on additive manufacturing (AM) for defence-grade components, alongside the Federal University of Technology Minna, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, and the Air Force Institute of Technology.
The consortium will pool capability across powder-bed fusion, directed-energy deposition, and binder-jetting processes — with shared access to high-performance characterisation equipment hosted by the partner institutions.
DIT's contribution
DIT's Foundry Technology and Materials Testing labs bring the consortium hands-on capacity for post-processing and quality assurance work. The institute's incoming HND Foundry Technology cohort will rotate through consortium projects during their SIWES placements.
Why this matters
Additive manufacturing is one of the highest-leverage technical capabilities a defence industrial base can develop — particularly for low-volume, high-value replacement parts that would otherwise have to be imported or held in expensive inventory. The consortium's stated five-year objective is to mature at least three AM-produced defence components to TRL 7 (system prototype demonstrated in operational environment).