GLOBALLY ENGAGED ACQUISITION ENTERPRISE
they’re often in harsh and austere conditions. Tey have person- nel, but they’re limited if people are not devoted to construction; then that’s taking up their time that they could be doing other activities,” Kreiger said.
She explained that military personnel who are provided with the proper 3D printing tools to build structures (whether tempo- rary or semi-permanent) can do so with limited manpower. She described that, depending on which printing system is used, a crew between two to eight personnel working in rotation can 3D print and construct an entire 512-square-foot building in 24 to 48 hours, stating that the most labor-intensive part of the process is mixing the concrete. “It’s a much better environment for people in construction to be able to produce structures with limited physical activity,” Kreiger said. “Basically, the only phys- ical activity aside from the mixing is laying reinforcement.”
On top of reducing the amount of physical labor needed for construction, the use of concrete materials instead of plywood enhances the structural integrity of the building. Concrete struc- tures are more resilient in extreme weather conditions and can offer better protection from potential enemy attacks. And since the buildings can be designed to suit a unit’s needs, military personnel can tailor the size and shape of the building, modify the thickness of the walls, customize reinforcement, add insu- lation and more.
CONCLUSION Additive construction can streamline construction operations, improve efficiency, reduce the logistical burden, reduce material costs and lessen the physical burden of manual labor on mili- tary personnel. “Te idea is, let’s make construction easier and reduce the amount of manpower and overall labor, all while using locally available materials,” Kreiger said. “People are not physically worn out in the same way that you would be if you were constructing a building using conventional methods.” By constructing buildings and other structures using 3D printing methods and reducing the amount of physical labor needed, mili- tary personnel can save both time and energy to focus on other responsibilities in expeditionary environments.
Te use of 3D printing in the military is still a work in prog- ress; and the Additive Construction program is continuing with improvements to benefit the warfighter. Kreiger explained that she would like to see the program expand, aiming to provide military units with better access to 3D printing equipment and thoroughly train in its operation at the various engineer service schools.
https://asc.ar my.mil 13
“What I want to see going forward is this technology to be used for applications that truly benefit the warfighter. Not just doing demonstrations or small prints, but ones that provide a lot of military utility that improve their basic day-to-day activities and make it easier for them to be in more expeditionary envi- ronments,” Kreiger said. “My priority right now is to ensure that proper development of this technology as it transitions into the hands of the users and military personnel that'll be taking this forward into the field as a new capability. So, a lot of what we’re trying to work on is getting printing systems stationed with different units for them to be able to operate independently from any of the engineers or researchers that do this as a day job and get them to start incorporating it into their normal activities.”
For more information, go to
https://www.erdc.usace.army.mil/ Locations/CERL.
REBECCA WRIGHT is a writer and editor with Army AL&T and the U.S. Army Acquisition Support Center at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. She has more than 15 years of experience writing and editing for DOD and the U.S. Department of Justice.
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