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US Air Force Is Waiting a Year for Parts That It Could 3D-Print
Someday, the military will 3D-print missiles as needed, the U.S. Air Force’s acquisition chief says. In the shorter term, he just wants to use additive manufacturing technology to get broken planes back in the air. The roadblock is legal, not technical. “I have airplanes right now that are waiting on parts that are taking a year and a half to deliver." (www.defenseone.com) Más...
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Not being a stress engineer, and printing parts was not viable when I worked at Boeing. How do these printed parts handle the stress of flying? Are they comparable to the manufactured parts?
"Today’s 3D-printers could make short work of those deliveries, but some of those parts’ original manufacturers control the intellectual property — and so far, the service lacks clear policy for dealing with that."
If the aircraft cannot fly do to the lack of these parts, that would seem to be a national security issue.
Could the government condemn the 'intellectual property' under eminent domain and compensate the contractor for the taking? Sounds like contractual language should be included in defense contracts going forward.
From the sublime to the ridiculous is but a single step.