Page 25 - ADT NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2022 Online Magazine

LIMITLESS POTENTIAL
TENTIAL
LIMITLESS PO

© Boeing

THE USE OF ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING submarine manufacture and repair, construction
IN THE DEFENCE SECTOR BRINGS WITH of field shelters, fabrication of essential com-
ponents, manufacture of equipment parts, and
IT A NEW WORLD OF POSSIBILITIES 3D printing of explosives. 3D printing also gives
militaries the option of extending the opera-
 ARUN SIVASANKARAN tional lifetime of legacy equipment, even those
for which spare parts are difficult to obtain, and
As additive manufacturing (AM) opens up a sea of possibilities for the to decrease the weight of existing equipment
defence industry, pushing production costs down and providing new by using composite materials.
ways to 3D print replacement parts on demand, excited militaries
around the world are sitting up and taking notice.
SETTING THE PACE
A plethora of projects, many of them pushing the limits of 3D printing
far beyond what most imagined possible, have either been com- Buoyed by government backing for the adop-
pleted or are underway. Analysts expect further breakthroughs as tion of the technology, the U.S. is In the forefront
militaries are exploring new design engineering possibilities using of pushing the boundaries of 3D printing in
AM technologies that has the potential to reduce part lead times by defence. In 2021, the Department of Defence
as much as 90 per cent, slash materials cost by 90 per cent, reduce published its Additive Manufacturing strategy,
waste and cut energy use in half as compared to legacy processes. outlining the integration and collaboration of
3D printing technology within the military force.
“Additive manufacturing allows us to fundamentally explore new
ways to build our products,” says Melissa Orm, Vice President of In May this year, the Biden Administration joined
Boeing Additive Manufacturing. “We can create parts that are prac- GE Aviation, Honeywell, Lockheed Martin,
tically or traditionally impossible. “Additive manufacturing is also Raytheon, and Siemens Energy to launch
greener and more sustainable than other methods because the Additive Manufacturing Forward (AM Forward)
process uses less energy and resources and creates fewer emissions, to encourage the use of 3D printing technolo-
while the waste generated as a by-product of the process can be gies in companies across the United States. The
more easily recycled and reused.”
initiative, which is expected to have a positive
impact on supply chain resilience, involves the
Some of the most effective uses of AM technologies in the military
sphere are for making combat vehicles hulls, parts for fighter aircraft, five companies purchasing additively produced
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