Through new methods, policies and inter-departmental collaboration, the Defense Department is harnessing the potential of additive manufacturing – better often known as three-dimensional printing – to help our warfighters maintain technological overmatch against our strategic opponents.
Mask Making Employees with Naval Facilities Engineering and Expeditionary Warfare Center, Naval Construction Group 1, create 3D face masks to support the COVID-19 relief efforts aboard the Navy hospital ship USNS Mercy in Los Angeles, April 13, 2020. The Defense Logistics Agency’s Joint Additive Manufacturing Model Exchange has a dozen authorised models for critical items reminiscent of face shields and surgical masks for military customers.
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Photo By: Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael Lopez
VIRIN: 200413-N-TP832-2054C
Mask Frames Marine Air Logistics Squadron 36 makes use of the Defense Logistics Agency’s Joint Additive Manufacturing Data Exchange to 3D print mask frames on Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa, Japan, April 3, 2020. JAMMEX lets army customers obtain and print permitted fashions for essential COVID-19 provides akin to face shields and surgical masks.
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VIRIN: 200403-M-MJ345-087C
AM is a computer-managed course of that creates 3D objects by depositing materials, often in layers. These materials embody but usually are not limited to polymers and metals.
As cost decreases and AM expertise advances, rapid prototyping DOD is increasingly making the most of this technology to produce such issues as spare components for aircraft and weapons techniques; instruments; rapid prototyping for analysis, development and experimentation; and medical supplies, such as face shields for COVID-19 first responders.
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AM expertise benefits embody the ability to make elements with innovative designs which might be lighter and perform extra effectively than components manufactured by conventional strategies like lathes, mills, welding and casting, defined Robert Gold, director of the Technology and Manufacturing Industrial Base Office in the workplace of the Undersecretary for Research and Engineering.
Currently, the military providers, the Defense Logistics Agency, and even combatant commands in the sphere use AM processes, Gold famous.
“What we’re attempting to do with this highly flexible know-how is to align actions across our enterprise, so that there’s a sense of harmony and so that our processes work collectively and we can change classes learned,” he stated.
In order to do this, DOD published the Department of Defense Additive Manufacturing Strategy in January 2021. The technique units a standard AM imaginative and prescient and lays out five strategic AM objectives. If you loved this article and you would certainly like to get even more information relating to rapid prototype (www.ted.com) kindly go to our own internet site. In June 2021, rapid prototyping the Department published DOD Instruction 5000.93, Use of Additive Manufacturing in the DOD. The instruction establishes overall AM coverage, roles and obligations throughout the Department, and provides overarching AM guidance.
3D Printing Marine Air Logistics Squadron 36 uses the Defense Logistics Agency’s Joint Additive Manufacturing Data Exchange to 3D print mask frames on Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa, Japan, April 3, 2020. JAMMEX lets military customers obtain and print approved models for important COVID-19 supplies corresponding to face shields and surgical masks.
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Photo By: Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Madeline Jones
VIRIN: 200403-M-MJ345-034C
Face Shield Air Force Airman 1st Class Trent Ramsey, left, an air transportation cargo processor with the 436th Aerial Port Squadron, and Air Force Senior Airman Dominique Hedges, a bodily therapy technician with the 436th Medical Group, man a medical screening checkpoint whereas wearing 3D printed face shields at Dover Air Force Base, Del., April 10, 2020. Models for face shields could be downloaded from The Defense Logistics Agency’s Joint Additive Manufacturing Model Exchange.
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Photo By: Air Force Airman 1st Class Jonathan Harding
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As a follow-on to those documents, DOD is now working with the military providers and OSD businesses to develop AM implementation plans and detailed technical guidance, Gold mentioned.
DOD formed a joint steering committee in 2021 to support the publication of an AM guidebook in 2022, Gold added.
“As with another steerage or coverage doc, we will proceed to mature it as expertise itself matures, and DOD will continue to increase the usage of this data at the side of our industry partners. And, we’ll continue to work with the providers and collaborative bodies to close gaps, minimize dangers in expertise adoption and speed up additive manufacturing use throughout the division,” he said.
Tracy Frost, director of the Office of the Secretary of Defense Manufacturing Technology Program in the workplace of the Undersecretary for Research and Engineering, elaborated further on DOD’s 5 AM goals, as described within the DOD AM technique:
1
Integrate AM into DOD and the natural and industrial industrial bases.
2
Align, promote and advance AM activities throughout the division and with federal companies, such because the Federal Aviation Administration.
Three
Collaborate with trade and academia to establish a public-private partnership with America Makes, which goals to advance and promote America’s world manufacturing competitiveness in AM and different areas.
4
Expand proficiency in the DOD workforce by way of quality coaching and sharing best practices.
5
Ensure cybersecurity of the AM workflow inside the Department as well as the provision chain.
She noted that the Joint Additive Manufacturing Working Group is working across DOD’s acquisition and sustainment and research and engineering communities to find out the place DOD can finest implement AM policies, and determine key personnel who will help with that implementation. The JAMWG is made up of representatives from each of the army providers and key protection agencies that have AM equities.
At the DOD senior leadership level, the Joint Defense Manufacturing Council is offering oversight of AM implementation division large, she added.
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“Close collaboration between OSD ManTech and our navy providers and OSD agencies have allowed us to completely capture AM’s potential for our warfighters. With this AM strategy and instruction now in place, we have a firm way ahead for fully integrating AM use in DOD,” Frost said.