- Assistant
secretary of Air Force for acquisition, technology, and logistics says 3D
metal printing poised to streamline military maintenance, save billions
- Army’s
suppliers reluctant to manufacture highly demanding but low-volume
production; 3D metal printing changes this
- Sigma
Labs’ unique quality-assurance software essential for leveraging full
potential of 3D metal printing in defense sector
The United States’ defense budget consumes a large portion
of its overall spending; in 2018, the cost of replacing the Army’s aviation
fleet alone was a staggering $4 billion (http://ibn.fm/TwAW4). Currently, a substantial portion of
this cost is tied up in bidding manufacturers to produce specific replacement
parts on aging aircraft, creating a critical need for affordable, effective
parts manufacturing (http://ibn.fm/2Axy8).
This is where 3D metal printing – deemed a “significant
advance in military parts purchasing” – steps in. Sigma Labs Inc.’s (NASDAQ: SGLB) PrintRite3D®
software, a revolutionary, real-time, computer-aided inspection technology that
enables in-process quality assurance of 3D metal printing, could prove to be an
important piece in the U.S. defense sector’s 3D metal printing plans. SGLB’s
technology is the only real-time, in-process, quality-assurance solution
capable of observing, managing and controlling manufacturing complexities while
detecting defects and intervening immediately.
Will Roper, the assistant secretary of the Air Force for
acquisition, technology, and logistics, discussed the transformative power of
additive manufacturing technology for the military sector in a recent Washington
Post article. Additive manufacturing, often called 3D printing,
includes methods used to create a three-dimensional object by robotically
layering powdered material under computer control. The capability to produce
high-quality metal parts has dramatically broadened the practical application
of the nascent technology, and the defense industry has been quick to
capitalize on its potential.
In recent years, resources have been allocated to
investigate the potential of the emerging technology for producing replacement
parts. Roper states that 3D metal printing could save the U.S. Army billions of
dollars each year on military equipment maintenance related to producing small
scale but rather complex parts. Some of the equipment in question, while still
useful, was built decades ago. With replacement parts in short supply,
maintaining this equipment can be expensive.
Roper also notes that, according to the Government
Accountability Office, this upkeep – or “sustainment” in military language –
accounts for around 70% of total costs of weapons’ ownership. Just for the 52
C-5 cargo warplanes that the Air Force operates, sustainment amounts to about
$620 million per year. The conventional production is proving expensive as
manufacturers must create customized parts while meeting a myriad of military
specifications, allocating equipment and manpower for a small production that
won’t be reordered for many years. The end result is extremely high cost of
replacement parts – but 3D metal printing is set to change all this.
“In two short years, 3-D printing has spread across the Air
Force,” Roper writes in the Washington Post article. “Today,
we print thousands of spare aircraft parts from metals and polymers, lowering
operating cost by tens of millions while getting planes back to the fight
faster. The need is severe: For example, three C-5s are grounded, awaiting
exhaust ducts because our purchase offer of more than $430,000 for eight units
did not entice a single supplier for months… When we finally received a bid,
the earliest delivery was 34 weeks.”
“Using a 3-D printer, our Air Force engineers made [a]
latrine panel for $300, saving $8,200, compared with the open market prices we
once paid through the Defense Logistics Agency,” Roper writes. However, Roper
noted that differences from printer to a printer can introduce peculiar defects
not found in traditional manufacturing. To secure adequate performance and
confidence in how the produced parts were made, thereby addressing craft part
integration safety, especially under the stress and strain of flight, 3D
metal-printing technology needs to address quality control issues such as the
variable occurrence of part “lack of fusion porosity” which in turn creates a
potentially lucrative opening for Sigma Labs’ technology.
The company could be a crucial player as it is recognized as
a leader in the 3D metal-printing, quality-assurance domain. With still modest
valuation at around $14 million, combined with a robust lineup of lucrative
collaboration opportunities with industry’s major players and the expected
growth of the whole market, Sigma Labs represents an investment opportunity
that is high on investors’ radar in 2020. The company is poised to capitalize
on its intense efforts during the previous years.
For more information, visit the company’s website at www.SigmaLabsInc.com
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates
relating to SGLB are available in the company’s newsroom at http://ibn.fm/SGLB
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