Marching into the future of 3D-Printed War
British architect claims "first architectural application" of 3D printing
3D-Printed Fish Scales May Improve Military Armor
edited 5th Mar '14 3:53:03 PM by rmctagg09
Hugging a Vanillite will give you frostbite.Bonsai: So what is up with mention of stocks all the time?
CT scans + 3D printers to make a 3d replica of dinosaur bones
The whole scale thing. Reinventing Scale armor again. Already one example out there with "Dragon Skin" that got the suspicious end of questionable statements from "experts" and other contractor linked leadership. Namely a general who retired and went to work for the creators competitors. Though these days the body of evidence that shenanigans were involved has grown quite considerably. Including vests passing their six year armor certs.
There is a lot of biology inspired concepts for armor not just 3d printed stuff. Like Ultra thin layering of ceramics similar to an abalone shell. Or the metallic crystal like structure on certain sea snails. Also things like composition and layers of the Pistol Shrimps claws.
I read the article on 3d printing and war. It is still abundantly clear these folks don't understand how a actual logistics system for even a basic convoy works.
Like this blurb here. A vehicle breaks you are going to be sitting on your ass until the machine fabs it and then you have to inspect the part and if it is good replace if possible. If you keep parts for what is most likely to break on the vehicle you have a much shorter time from break to repair. Also it is pretty easy to keep an extensive number of parts in stock. We do it all the time. The same space you would need for the raw mats and the printer itself could easily be made by ready made parts and other items.
The bit about the ammo was so out of touch it made my head hurt. You can't just shit out a bunch of ammo and be like bam were good. Ammo when it is made is tested to make sure the batches were made correctly and minimize problems. Batches go bad. Fact of life. Also again the space and weight you would need for the raw mats and printer could more easily be taken up by ready to use ammo stores.
There is simply no logical way to shoe horn this tech into logistics chain like that. Where this tech would be great is in forward supply bases or even more permanent bases where you have the time, protection, and space to store the raw mats and machines to crank out the parts.
Ready made spares and ammo will trump 3d printed material hands down every time. Because it is ready now not in 30 minutes.
edited 3rd Dec '13 12:10:43 AM by TuefelHundenIV
Who watches the watchmen?One of the big 3D printing advantage for the military would probably the fact that you could cannibalise with ease. So normally if you're out of something that's it and you're out of it, but with a 3D printer and everything being 3D printed you can break up something spare for printing material and print out what you need.
“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran3D Printers Gain Steam, Boost 3D Printing Stocks
US researchers develop low-cost metal 3D printer
Silas: You have to break down the materials first. But at a base with the right gear that is a possibility.
I can see this being a great boost to repair shops. Instead of having to fill out forms and requisition the parts and wait two to three weeks I can go to the section with the machine and punch in the request, inspect the part, and then take it back to the shop and install them.
edited 11th Dec '13 4:46:25 PM by TuefelHundenIV
Who watches the watchmen?Also if everything is 3D printed it means when get the inevitable shipment of 2,000 [thing we don't need] you can just break it down and reprint it into what you do need rather than arguing with the supply chain/higher ups about what you need to do your job.
If only you could do it with aircraft, you could take all the 'stealth' aircraft that the Pentagon have a bonner for and turn them into A-10s.
Loudspeaker Is First-Ever 3-D-Printed Consumer Electronic
3-D Tissue Printing: Cells from the Eye Inkjet-Printed for the First Time
Multimaterial 3-D Printers Create Realistic Hands-On Models for Neurosurgical Training
Put away the plastic toys, the Mark One 3D printer creates in carbon fiber
New live-cell printing technology works like ancient Chinese woodblocking
My apologies for the triple post.
The Father Of 3D Printing Is Being Inducted Into The National Inventors Hall Of Fame
The dark side of 3D printing: 10 things to watch

Philadelphia Becomes First City To Ban 3D Guns
Everything is Possible. But some things are more Probable than others. JEBAGEDDON 2016