Troops in remote locations soon will be able to use three-dimensional printers to fabricate replacement parts for broken equipment on airplanes or ground vehicles. Engineering teams at the Army Research Laboratory in Adelphi, Md., Aberdeen, Md., and Purdue University have combined existing software packages to develop materials that would be sturdy enough to function and compatible with existing 3-D printers. Troops could download models of parts that are supplied by vendors and manufacturers and print them. "Sometime in the near future, soldiers would be able to fabricate and repair … structures very easily in the front lines or forward operating bases," said Ed Habtour, an engineer with the laboratory’s Vehicle Technology Directorate at Aberdeen. The new technology would save both time and money by reducing the need to ship damaged equipment to main bases for repairs.
