The British Army integrates 3D printing through Project Brokkr

The British Military is pioneering the mixing of 3D printing expertise within the discipline by way of Undertaking Brokkr, an initiative that mobilizes metallic manufacturing processes often confined to lab environments.

The British Military’s journey with additive manufacturing started in earnest in 2019 when the Royal Engineers, throughout their deployment in South Sudan for Op TRENTON, utilized 3D printing to provide plumbing fittings important for establishing a discipline hospital. This operation highlighted the expertise’s effectivity and flexibility, significantly in distant places the place conventional provide chains are inaccessible. Initially utilizing primary tools akin to hobbyist instruments, the Military rapidly acknowledged the broader potential of this expertise and has since superior to extra refined strategies.

At the moment, the British Military has developed the potential to print metallic objects utilizing chilly spraying, or Supersonic Specific Deposition (SPD). In contrast to different strategies that use intense warmth to fuse particles, SPD accelerates metallic powder by way of a nozzle at speeds as much as Mach 3, permitting for the deposition of the fabric onto a substrate based mostly on computer-aided designs. This methodology is notably sooner than heat-based methods and is able to producing bigger objects extra effectively.

9 Battalion Royal Electrical & Mechanical Engineers (REME) has been instrumental in advancing this functionality, guaranteeing that these high-tech processes are ruggedized for discipline use. This adaptation permits the Military to deploy these capabilities as tactical belongings in numerous environments, a major evolution from the static use in sterile labs seen in different nations’ purposes of the expertise.

Lieutenant Colonel John Anthistle, the commanding officer of 9 REME, emphasised that whereas chilly spraying is an progressive strategy, it’s a part of a broader spectrum of additive manufacturing. The method encompasses a number of phases from design to post-manufacture remedies like warmth treating and milling, integrating conventional expertise and trades discovered throughout the Corps.

Just lately, 9 REME showcased their cellular 3D metallic printing expertise in Germany through the ‘Area Military Additive Manufacturing Focus’. Following this, the expertise shall be demonstrated in Belgium on the Additive Manufacturing Village, a army showcase hosted by the European Defence Company, underscoring the British Military’s management in adopting and adapting new applied sciences for enhanced discipline operations.