3-D printing might be the defense industry’s next big thing

In 2015, GSA even created a Schedule 36 Special Item Number (SIN) for additive manufacturing: 51 400 – 3D Printing Solutions. The SIN currently has twelve companies, all small businesses.

3-D printing offers opportunity for government contractors focused on innovation.

As technology advances, some companies are proposing using additive manufacturing, or 3-D printing, to meet the Defense Department’s needs more efficiently and flexibly.

When you ask most people to imagine a defense contracting project, they think of big-ticket projects –fighter jets, weapons, cyber warfare. But an enormous part of the Department of Defense contracting budget goes toward repair, maintenance, and the logistics of shipping parts across the globe. Overall, half of the DOD’s $75 billion budget goes to parts, reported Washington Technology in 2016..

Now, companies are advocating using additive manufacturing, often called 3-D printing, as an innovative way to meet rapidly changing military needs in far-flung locations.

3-D printing can offer the government a whole range of benefits. For instance:

1. Small-scale manufacturing. Additive manufacturing (AD) makes small-scale, custom parts easier to create. Traditional techniques require different tools and machines to make each individual part, which makes it prohibitively expensive to build, say, five of one part. But 3-D printers alone can make almost any shape using one machine. The cost benefits of AD are especially important for technology in the defense and aerospace industries, which are more likely to have unique and complicated components. 3-D printers can also make complex parts lightweight, and are being used for weight-sensitive projects like NASA rockets.
2. Logistics. The Army has already deployed 3-D printers to Afghanistan, to allow soldiers to build parts they need on demand. AD can cut costs for the military by allowing soldiers in remote locations to print things they need, rather than fly or ship them in.
3. Innovation. One of the most promising ways 3-D printing is being used is prototyping and demonstration units. Printing a digitally designed product, instead of building the tools required to manufacture it, can significantly speed up the development process.
4. On the fly problem solving. While deployed in Afghanistan, soldiers discovered that their standard-issue flashlight had a raised button that could be accidentally pressed, putting them at risk of revealing their location to the enemy. Rather than wait months for a solution to be shipped out to the field, they quickly designed and printed a guard for the flashlights using a 3-D printer. Additive manufacturing, by allowing soldiers to craft custom solutions to unforeseen problems, fills a gap that the DOD needs to be ready for often unpredictable situations.

3-D printing technology still has some limitations. The printers themselves, as well as the material, are expensive, and metal 3-D printed objects have some structural weaknesses that make them unsuitable for certain tasks. There are also size limitations, though companies like Lockheed Martin are working on building printers that can create objects up to 100 feet long! And despite the limitations, the military is conducting research into new ways to use additive manufacturing; for instance, to print tiny custom drones on the battlefield.

All of this research is expanding the impact of 3-D printing in the contracting sphere. Contract solicitations related to additive manufacturing have grown exponentially since 2014, and will likely continue to grow (see chart).

Contracts related to 3-D printing are offering small and disadvantaged businesses unparalleled opportunity. Since 2005, $3 billion in contracts related to additive manufacturing have been awarded under some type of small business setaside.

Military professionals seem to think that 3-D printing will continue growing in importance. Military research company Defense IQ found in a survey that 75 percent of defense industry professionals think the technology will become ubiquitous in ten years, and 90 percent believe it will be ubiquitous in 20. The study’s respondents predicted that the industry 3-D printing will benefit the most is aerospace, followed by the defense and space industries.

As we’ve written before, small businesses have the advantage when it comes to emerging technologies like AM. Their small size and flexibility allow them to explore new and innovative opportunities that larger companies might not even think to try.

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