Additive manufacturing may solve future logistic support issues
NewsMarch 08, 2017
ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. Defense Logistics Agency Aviation commander, - a field activity of the Defense Logistics Agency(DLA) - visited the U.S. Army Research Laboratory to learn about advances in materials sciences and potential uses for additive manufacturing (or 3-D printing) for legacy systems in the U.S. Army. For future logistics support, additive manufacturing printing may hold the key, officials say.
Brig. Gen. Allan E. Day oversees more than $3.8 billion in annual sales in the Department of Defense's (DoD) aviation demand chain. His organization, DLA Aviation, supports more than 1,800 weapon systems and is the DoD's integrated materiel manager for more than 1.1 million national stock number items, industrial retail supply and depot-level repairable acquisitions.
"Additive manufacturing gives the unit the advantage to make the part themselves right then and there," Day says. "They won't have to outsource to get these parts. That means they'll get the part sooner."
Day toured ARL's Rodman Materials Research Laboratory and learned about the Army's initiatives for unique additive manufacturing technologies. Cold Spray, for example, is a material-deposition process where metal or metal-ceramic mixtures of powders are sprayed to form a coating or even a freestanding structure.
"The particles embed on impact, forming a strong bond with the surface," explains Victor Champagne, ARL's Advanced Materials and Processes team leader. Champagne mentions the technology has saved millions of defense dollars by enabling the re-use of previously unusable worn parts.
Legacy systems that were designed and manufactured decades ago are expensive to maintain, repair, and replace the parts needed to keep the systems operational, officials say.
"Take the B-52 Bomber for instance, it's a legacy system that's going to be on the flight line for a long time," Day explains. "Its life is being extended continuously. So, for the logistics community, additive manufacturing is a game-changer."
Additive manufacturing may provide a cost effective and efficient path to keeping systems at full readiness. The hope is to the parts will be as reliable as traditionally manufactured parts, Day adds.
"We conduct the fundamental interdisciplinary research in materials and manufacturing science that will ensure rapid and affordable development of materials, from discovery to delivery, critical to the Army of the future," says Dr. Jeff Zabinski, director of ARL's Weapons and Materials Research Directorate. "Our goal is to create a science base that is the foundation for making in-line certified parts that will reduce logistics burden and enable rapid response to unknown threats."
