3D Printing

Marines to Test 3D Systems' 3D Printing Toolkit Live During Annual Wargame

We’ve written, on more than one occasion, about how the world’s various armed forces might utilize 3D printing in the field of battle. With mobile labs like the Rapid Equipping Force, engineers might be able to 3D print a mission critical part on demand in the case that equipment experiences damage while in combat. And, though the REF exists, we have yet to witness a tangible proof of concept in which such a team replaces parts in a live scenario.  Before proving the concept in war, 3D Systems will be testing it out where the stakes are lower, the Marine Corps’ annual Expeditionary Logistics Wargame (ExLog).

3D Systems and marines test 3D printing toolkit during wargames

During this year’s ExLog, Marine Corps engineers will be using a 3D Systems package called the Combat and Logistic Units’ Toolkit – made up of the company’s industrial scanning, modeling, and printing technology – during a live simulation.  While the “battle” is taking place, Marines will be required to repair two mission-critical components on a tactical multipurpose robot, built to clear obstacles in order to make room for a landing helicopter.  To pull of the task, engineers will rely on 3DS’ portable Geomagic Capture 3D scanner, which will they will use to scan the robot’s parts with Geomagic Design Direct.  Then, the marines will use the company’s selective laser sintering and direct metal printing 3D printers.  Finally, the parts will be verified for accuracy using Geomagic Control.  If they can successfully execute 3D Systems’ “digital thread”, the warfighters will be able to save the time and money required to replace the broken components by shipping them from another base or a storehouse in the US.

Marines test 3D printing toolk kit in wargame

Vice President of Alliances and Partnerships, Neal Orringer, said of the upcoming demonstration, “We are thrilled to work with the U.S. Department of Defense to modernize tactics across multiple domains (land, air, sea, cyber, and space) and demonstrate to the Marine Corps the latest tools to deliver rapid response solutions in critical applications.  We are pleased to be a partner in this effort to improve tactical responses and help save warfighters’ lives.”  If you’re an avid reader of 3D printing industry news, you may remember that Orringer was originally a White House staffer who has a strong connection with the Department of Defense.

Along with the Marines, 3DS has partnered with the Naval Undersea Warfare Center in Keyport and Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.  They have also 3D printed components for the DoD’s Joint Strike Fighter and T-Hawk unmanned micro air-vehicle.  In this way, the company is advancing 3D printing in the armed forces, which Vice Admiral Philip H Cullom, Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) for Fleet Readiness and Logistics with the U.S. Navy, sees as being a vital part of the future of the US warfighting capabilities, saying in a video for the Print the Fleet initiative, “It’s my strong belief that 3D printing and advanced manufacturing are breakthrough technologies for our maintenance and logistics functions of the future.  We can gain new capabilities to make rapid repairs, print tools and parts where and when they are needed, carry fewer spares and, ultimately, transform our maritime maintenance and logistics supply chain.”

If the demonstration is successful, I wonder what sort of non-military applications it may have.  As the Combat and Logistic Units’ Toolkit can be used for critical parts in a time sensitive, high stakes situation, it’s not difficult to imagine it being used in other vital capacities, including UN workers in relief zones and the like.

For more on the project, watch the video below: