The business of 3D printed guided weapons

The business of 3D printed guided weapons

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3D printing has become a convenient and fast way to produce just about anything that has a blueprint these days, from guns to shoes. But some companies are starting to use 3D printing as part of industrial production.

Researchers at Raytheon Missile Systems have been using 3D printing to create guided weapon’s components including rocket engines, fins and parts.

Engineers are exploring the use of 3-D printing to lay down conductive materials for electrical circuits, create housings for the company’s revolutionary gallium nitride transmitters, and fabricate fins for guided artillery shells. The process may reduce costs associated with traditional manufacturing. Moreover, it allows for quick design and rapid changes. As long as they stay within set parameters, they can have new parts in hours.

Leah Hull, additive manufacturing manager for Raytheon said, “3-D printing could someday streamline the manufacturing process. “When we print something, we have fewer piece parts, so your supply chain becomes simpler” Hull added.

Engineers at the Raytheon University of Massachusetts Lowell Research Institute are developing ways to print complex electronic circuits and microwave components – building blocks of sophisticated radars used in products like Raytheon’s Patriot air and missile defense system.

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