The US Marine Corps has an annual event, the Expeditionary Logistics Wargame VIII (ExLog), where top Marine Corps planners incorporate new technologies to enhance the Corps’ logistics and supply chain response capabilities.

At this year’s event, Marine Corps engineers plan to explore 3D Systems’ 3D scanning and printing tools to rapidly replace damaged parts in the field. As part of the exercise, Marines will repair two key parts of a tactical multipurpose robot, designed to clear a “hot” landing zone of obstacles preventing the insertion of a helicopter. Engineers will use Geomagic® CaptureTM, a portable 3D scanner, coupled with Geomagic DesignTM Direct, to create exact CAD models of the damaged robot’s components in minutes. Replacement parts will then be immediately printed using 3DS’ Selective Laser Sintering and Direct Metal Printing Fab-Grade printers. Once parts are printed, the quality and accuracy of the parts will be checked using Geomagic ControlTM for accurate comparison of the physical part to the original data.

Whereas battle damage would once require military hardware to be decommissioned and removed from battle for extended and costly servicing, this exercise will demonstrate how 3D printing enables engineers to complete the necessary scanning, printing and inspection locally on site, and productively through a seamless digital thread.

As the ExLog Wargame illustrates, 3D printing is set to play a strategic role in directly supporting warfighter needs, on and off the battlefield. Recently, Vice Admiral Philip H Cullom, Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) for Fleet Readiness and Logistics with the U.S. Navy, illustrated the growing importance of advanced manufacturing in the armed forces.

“It’s my strong belief that 3D printing and advanced manufacturing are breakthrough technologies for our maintenance and logistics functions of the future,” said Vice Admiral Cullom in a video launching the Print the Fleet initiative, a series of workshops supported by the CNO’s Rapid Innovation Cell. “We can gain new capabilities to make rapid repairs, print tools and parts where and when they are needed, carry fewer spares and, ultimately, transform our maritime maintenance and logistics supply chain.”

With this demonstration, 3DS continues its strong record of advancing core Department of Defense technology, from direct manufacturing components for the Joint Strike Fighter and T-Hawk unmanned micro air-vehicle to an array of rapid prototyping and medical device applications. 3DS’ technology also supports units as varied as Naval Undersea Warfare Center – Keyport, and Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

3D Systems
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