It isn’t just planes, trains and automobiles that work more effectively when they’re lighter, stronger and 3D printed. Now the US Missile Defense Agency has turned to ExOne to create silicon carbide components. The three-year deal is worth more than 1.5 million and the end result should be lighter, faster and more efficient missiles that can travel further on a set fuel load. ExOne uses a binder jetting technique that is perfect for this job. 3D printing should give it the capacity to indulge in more real world experimentation to perfect their designs. It also gives them the ability to stock up rapidly if the worst happens and the US suddenly needs a large amount of short or long-range missiles. It’s just in time manufacturing, with the fate of the nation at stake. There is a payoff for the man and woman in the street here. The capacity to stock up the armory in a hurry means that the US government does not need to stockpile weapons to the same extent. As an industry, 3D printing should take this as yet another ringing endorsement. Missiles and military equipment just has to work, perfectly, and it’s a clear sign of the growing confidence in additive manufacturing that the MDA is turning to 3D printed parts on a much larger scale.
http://3dprintingindustry.com/news/3d-printing-helping-us-blow-stuff-87875/
