Naval Research Interested In Bringing 3D Printing To Large Scale For Ships 44
coondoggie writes: The Navy this month will outline what it is looking for from additive manufacturing or 3D printing technology as way to bolster what it terms "fleet readiness." The Office of Naval Research will on July 15 detail its Quality Metal Additive Manufacturing (Quality MADE) program that will aim to "develop and integrate the suite of additive manufacturing software and hardware tools required to ensure that critical metallic components can be consistently produced and rapidly qualified in a cost effective manner."
I can see it now (Score:4, Funny)
"But Captain! the 3d printers canna take much more if this! They're overheatin' already!"
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In Live Free of Die [amazon.com], humanity buys a replication device and some older weapon plans from some advanced aliens for war against other, less-advanced aliens.
They divide its time between producing cool stuff and cloning itself. Very RTS-like strategizing.
Of course with enough replications, you can have an army of replicators spitting out ships like the Starforge, no Force assist needed.
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Of course with enough replications, you can have an army of replicators spitting out ships like the Starforge, no Force assist needed.
You post got me to thinking. Imagine if you would, the ability to reproduce an F1 rocket engine.
That might not be the best example, but the ability to reproduce items ala carte, especially in a military context, would greately extend the lifetimes of the systems. So much superannuation is based on lack of replacement parts.
So imagine the ability to reproduce a Saturn 5, replete with incremental improvements. The same with an F-14 Tomcat. or A10 Thunderbolt.
Those are just a couple examples of some fi
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Imagine if you would, the ability to reproduce an F1 rocket engine.
That's what Dynetics is trying with the F-1B project... With 8 MN of liftoff thrusts, despite the other projects in the works (the Falcons, Vulcan, the mythical Blue Origin launcher), it could still make for an interesting single-stick launcher.
Re:I can see it now (Score:4, Informative)
The metal bits aren't what go obsolete. The tooling to produce the engines, the frames, the aerodynamic surfaces were destroyed only after the planes were retired. 3D printing doesn't help build microchips, wiring boards, etc.
Could some of those parts have been produced better with 3D printing? Sure. Particularly inside the engines, there are very complex forms that are difficult to make subtractively. But the whole plane? Big simple forms are far stronger and consistent when stamped from rolled stock than sintered up from powder.
The reason those planes were retired is that new requirements emerged, and it was decided (rightly or wrongly) that a new design was the right way to meet them.
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Microchips are a pretty nasty case. Between long development cycles and the demand for mil/aero rated and otherwise hardened versions, military gear is quite likely to be riddled with already-obsolete parts by the time it is formally declared 'finished', much less when the Block N variant is still in use 30 years later. Unfortunately, fully accurate emulation of even relatively feeble digita
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the 65xx series are still being manufactured. You can get a 40-pin DIL package for change out of thirty Dollars.
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the V-Force was retired with no replacements even planned, never mind implemented. Same as we're seeing now with our carriers. And our combat air wings.
Re:I can see it now (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:I can see it now (Score:4, Interesting)
Other components -such as gas turbine engine blades - are required to made from a single crystal of metal [wikipedia.org], for strength and resistance against thermal creep. If I recall correctly, the crystal is essential "grown" in the manufacturing process. It's unlikely that 3d printing will ever suffice for certain components. That said, there are thousands of components that could benefit from 3d printing.
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I wasn't aware of that - it'll be interesting to see how they get that to work. Sometimes I wish I actually made it into the aerospace industry - they do some pretty cool stuff.
Structure & microstructure (Score:3)
I don't think the article is suggesting aircraft carriers have a big fabber below desks that will print you out a new aircraft. I expect it will be used in the first instance to reduce inventory for all the spare bits and pieces, and it will be asked to make a new handle for the coffee jug. But I reckon this could go a long way...
The big drop forges are used to form and work-harden material in one blow. If you have a press that is big enough to whack out a whole aircraft bulkhead in one go, then you end
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Living bone awesome, they have their own independent neural network that can function without any help from the brain, (as does your gut). The neural network in your bones is responsible for the structural adaptations made in response to environmental stresses in individuals, it basically senses st
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Sounds like Terrans buying weapon plans from the Protoss to fight the Zerg.
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sounds like a subplot for Homeworld.
Won't somebody please think of the contractors! (Score:2)
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Captain, we're sinking!
Don't panic, sailor, just print us a new ship.
Didn't something like that happen on an episode of Red Dwarf?
DDDavy Jones' Locker (Score:1)
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On the plus side, unless WWIII is breaking out(in which case the personnel getting burned out is likely to be a trickier problem; but also one you'd encounter regardless of spare parts), you can probably swap out crew more easily than you can parts(especially the larger ones, or the more sensitive ones that you can't just put in checked baggage); unless the ship is in the midst of active hostility, in which case the crew would be pretty dumb to sabotage equipment that increases their odds of making it home alive.
With humans, you have some uncertainty(accidents, unusual medical issues, the occasional psych freakout or disciplinary problem); but the approximate rate at which you need to rotate people to keep them from burning out is comparatively predictable. With spare parts, there are some you know you'll need; but an impractically bulky number of ones you might need; but can't say for sure about. Much easier to ferry out a fresh batch of crew every X months than it is to guess, sufficiently far in advance, what parts to put on the next supply boat.
You think that crew are the expendable element on a ship? Wow...where did you get your expertise in military operations...Jerry Bruckheimer movies?
The military throws tremendous amounts of materiel and money at preservation of personnel, because personnel are always the choke point. It's always been that way, too...back in WW2, they could build fighters like nobody's business, but training pilots took far longer and cost much more. Expertise, experience, training, team acceptance...these are all hard-won
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My intended point was that, while people do react increasingly poorly to very long deployments, that is a comparatively predictable problem, which can be combated by a moving people in and out of active duty to control the length of active service; which is something that militaries have done fo
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In short, if your ship can stay out longer and longer, then you will have to figure out how to rotate the humans aboard.
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I suppose you could also swap out an entire crew at a time; but I suspect that that plan wouldn't work as well in practice. You will need some alternative to just having the crew assembled for the duration of the operation; and then resting or replacing it when you return to port; whatever seems best.
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translation: the fab shop can be located on the carrier negating the need for yet another hulk in the fleet for the submarines to protect.
This is about saving money in paying crews, maintaining ships and nerfing the group's speed to that of the slowest boat.
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This really applies for long-term deployments
Not really. Ships don't just go out to the middle of the ocean and drive around in circles. When deployed they spend most of their time in port. Even when out at sea it's rarely a problem getting small parts to a ship by helicopter; bigger parts usually require a visit to a shipyard anyway. Plus what usually breaks down is electronic.
Tired topic (Score:2)
I would rather not see any stories featuring easy tripe buzz words for a while. This includes: Drones, 3D Printers, and Graphene.
Re:Tired topic (Score:5, Funny)
Well then you're going to absolutely love the next story. It's about 3D-printed graphene quadcopters...
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Well then you're going to absolutely love the next story. It's about 3D-printed graphene quadcopters...
And they're being developed by Elon Musk in partnership with Uber.
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Haha! (Score:2)
I can't wait until the first files show up on the Internet to make it possible to 3D-print your very own 12-inch naval artillery!
On the other hand, though...after that day I will no longer be willing to visit either Texas or Arizona.
It's all fun and games (Score:2)
...Until your 3-D printed weather deck delaminates.