ROCK ISLAND ARSENAL, Ill.—The U.S. Army’s Rock Island Arsenal-Joint Manufacturing and Technology Center is embracing additive manufacturing to revolutionize machine repair, lower costs and enhance military readiness, showcasing the ingenuity and dedication found within the Department of Defense, the U.S. Army and its organic industrial base.
“The process of creating these temporary parts first requires reverse engineering the original part,” Edward Flinn, the director of the Advanced Manufacturing Center of Excellence at RIA-JMTC said. “We then printed the part, and fortunately minimal machining was required, so we were able to get the equipment operational soon after the prints were complete.”
The AM CoE, staffed by some of the brightest minds in the field, is creating temporary replacement parts for critical manufacturing equipment, significantly reducing downtime and extending the lifespan of aging machinery.
“In this factory, we have machines from the early 1950s that performed tasks that some newer technology just can’t do in the specifications and the tolerances that we require,” RIA-JMTC Logistics Director John Shappell explained. “The machines today are not as simple to adjust electronically, and the older machines are manually adjusted by a tradesman.”
This initiative builds on the success of the Battle-Damaged Repair and Fabrication program developed with Tank-automotive and Armaments Command. It allows rapid on-demand 3D printing of temporary repair parts for Army units in the field, directly contributing to the readiness and operational capability throughout formations.
“We make a lot of things that are hard to come by,” explains Robert Branch, AM CoE engineer. “By the time a part gets to the AM CoE, everyone has been given an opportunity to provide this part to the government. We’re sort of a last resort because traditional manufacturing methods are more appropriate for large-scale production. When you need a small quantity quickly, that’s when additive manufacturing comes into play.”
The adoption of additive manufacturing offers significant cost savings for the Army by reducing reliance on expensive traditional manufacturing methods, especially for small production runs. RIA-JMTC is at the forefront of this innovation, demonstrating the potential of 3D printing to revolutionize military manufacturing and readiness. While 3D printed parts can sometimes be more expensive, the speed and flexibility they offer prove invaluable.
“Customers understand that readiness solutions might come with a premium, and some are willing to invest in that assurance,” Randl Besse, AM CoE project manager said. “We can provide those parts in days compared to weeks, demonstrating the value of that investment in times of urgent need.”
This commitment to innovation within the defense industrial base ensures that facilities like RIA-JMTC are capable of not only sustaining fielded systems but also maintaining pace with Army modernization efforts. The AM CoE’s work is a testament to the talent present throughout the total workforce, ensuring the RIA-JMTC facility remains postured to surge in support of large-scale combat operations.
“I’m not a real big fan of recreating failure modes just because that’s the way it was,” Branch said. “If someone’s coming to the AM CoE and saying, ‘hey, we need these parts,’ I’m going to ask them why do you need these parts? Is it because they break in a certain area, or they wear out? Do they have one failure mode over another? Because I’m already there adjusting the part. So, let’s see how it interfaces with the other parts around it and if we can make it better.”
One example highlighting the factory replacement part program’s effectiveness is the replacement of a water pump for a critical plating system. With traditional procurement, the lead time for this pump was four to six weeks. The AM CoE was able to print, machine and test a replacement part in less than a week.
“As customers, we’re competing with the rest of the private industry to get this pump that we need to continue producing parts that build on military readiness,” Shappell said. “This replacement part program drastically improves operational availability and readiness.”
Beyond simply replicating existing parts, the AM CoE team actively analyzes and improves designs. For example, a redesigned burner cone, previously a two-piece component prone to failure, was 3D printed as a single, more robust piece, eliminating the previous failure points.
“There are many aspects where we’re getting material performance on printed items that are very close to forged or cast materials,” Branch explains. “When you factor in the safety margins of the original designs, the difference between the materials is often negligible.”
As the technology continues to evolve, additive manufacturing will likely have an even greater impact on Army operations and the wider military manufacturing industry. By embracing this emerging technology, RIA-JMTC is enhancing readiness and operational capabilities, ensuring Army formations are prepared for large-scale combat operations in contested environments.
By Kendall Swank