buildings to motor parts to aerial systems, additive offers the possibility of creating nearly on-demand anything, on-demand anywhere.
In theory, instead of traveling to an opera- tional environment with tons of gear, units could go with just enough equipment to get established, then set up machines that could additively produce on the spot the equipment or structures they need from local resources. Tat—manufacturing at the point of need—is a major feature of additive.
And while the Army does position additive capabilities in operational areas to produce parts and equipment at the point of need,
mostly the Army is printing parts, plastic or metal, to enhance readiness and make the sustainment process more sensible and speedy, said Mike Nikodinovski, mechan- ical engineer and additive expert at the U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC).
Many of these efforts are a matter of exper- imenting with the technology to see where and how it works best.
“We’ve been repairing parts for the M1 Abrams. … We’ve done projects cross- Army and with the Marine Corps where we printed things like impeller fans,” Nikodinovski said in an interview
with Army AL&T. “A lot of the things we’ve been doing are just basic one- for-one replacement. What can you do with additive for a part that’s tradition- ally manufactured? A lot of that gets at sustainment, and that’s what we’re trying to stand up at Rock Island—give them the capabilities so they can print metal parts, especially if you want … long-term procurement for parts where you only need a couple, vendors are no longer in business and it doesn’t make a lot of sense to spend a lot of money to set up tooling. Can additive be used to supplement the sustainment process, where I can just, say, print three parts and save all the time it would take to find vendors or set up the tooling?”
ADDITIVE OR 3D? Most of the experts that Army AL&T spoke to used additive manufacturing, but shortened the term to AM or, most often, additive. “3D printing” was a close second, but nearly all referred to the additive manufacture of an object as printing. For most, additive manufacturing is the most inclusive category. It’s also worth noting that many aspects of traditional manu- facturing are now referred to as subtractive manufacturing, espe- cially more recent, digitally driven techniques like computer numerical control (CNC). So, precision machin- ing of material in a CNC machine, turning a piece of metal or wood on a lathe, or drilling and machining mate- rials, is now often called subtractive.
MAKING CONNECTIONS
An REF engineer displays a completed part—a 3D-printed 90-degree strain relief offset connec- tor—while others are being produced in the background. The connectors, designed and fabricated by REF engineers at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, prevent cables from breaking when attached to a piece of equipment. However, AM experts noted that having a finished part is not the same thing as being able to use the finished part: It has to meet the Army’s standards, as does the machine that makes it. (U.S. Army photos by Jon Micheal Connor, Army Public Affairs)
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