Business
This 3D Printing 'Factory' is Being Built into a Shipping Container for the US Department of Defense By Daphne Leprince-Ringuet Meeting the Spare Parts Challenge Make the Parts Yourself. THE PRODUCTS THAT COME out of 3D printers can already be found in vastly different settings, ranging from hospital rooms to buried one hundred meters under the ground, or inside the world's largest particle detector. The US Department of Defense (DoD), for its part, is interested in bringing the technology into yet another setting: the battlefield. Additive manufacturing company ExOne has been awarded a $1.6 million contract by the DoD to develop a fully operational, self-contained 3D printing "factory" that could be transported in a 12-meter-long shipping container. The technology could be easily deployed in the field via land, sea or air, to manufacture, at pace, the parts needed by military personnel carrying out an operation. Whether intervening in a conflict zone or carrying out disaster relief, soldiers would be able to use the mobile factory to print broken or damaged parts in less than 48 hours, where traditional manufacturing methods typically requires four to six weeks. No tools would be necessary to build the parts, apart from the digital file for the finished product, as well as the material needed to print. This means that, instead of keeping racks of spare parts in storage, troops would only need to save a digital library of parts for 3D printing; when faced with a previously unseen technical issue, they could design a new digital file and print it as needed. Aircraft ducting, replacement lens caps, advanced electronics or medical equipment: there are many examples of products that military
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March-April 2021
personnel are likely to need urgently when in the field, and 3D printing those parts could significantly reduce downtime in a crisis. The technology could be easily deployed in the field via land, sea or air, to manufacture, at pace, the parts needed by military personnel carrying out an operation. ExOne, which spun out of MIT in the early 1990s, has an exclusive license to use a specific method for 3D printing called binder jetting. Instead of using a laser or nozzle to melt and weld material together, the company's printers inject a liquid binder on successive thin layers of powdered material to form the product. The concept is similar to traditional paper printing: the binder functions like the ink as it moves across the layers of powder, forming the final product. More than 20 materials, including metal and ceramic, are compatible with the company's method. "Binder jet 3D printing is a critical manufacturing technology for military use because of its speed, flexibility of materials, and ease of use," said John Hartner, ExOne's CEO. "We're excited to collaborate with the U.S. Department of Defense and other partners to make our 3D printers more rugged for the military (…). Most importantly, we know that years from now, our technology will play an important role in filling critical needs quickly." Although the technology is already tried and tested, more work needs to be done to fit ExOne's 3D printers into robust shipping containers that can be reliably flown, shipped, or driven around. The contract with the DoD will initially focus, therefore, on improving the ruggedness of the printers to make sure that they can withstand a wide range of operating conditions. DAWN
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