Expeditionary Metal Additive Manufacturing

The Army faces challenges in the ability to rapidly obtain service parts for aging systems, especially for deployed units. A capability to fabricate and repair parts on demand, at the point of need has the potential to revolutionize the fielded capabilities of our warfighters. Additive Manufacturing (AM) has the potential to change every element of military operations, sustainment, and readiness. AM unlocks the possibility to perform low-volume, high-customization part production without the need for a traditional manufacturing facility. Triton Systems, Inc. proposes to develop, validate, and integrate modular metallic additive manufacturing (AM) into the existing Metal Working and Machine Shop Set (MWMSS). Considering the limited storage capacity of an expeditionary system, enabling metal AM capability via a modular add-on to a pre-existing tool is an attractive approach. A head compatible with current MWMSS equipment would be preferable to introducing an additional stand-alone piece of equipment.