Original Method to Produce Ceramic Body Armor

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Researchers from the U.S. Army recently just discovered an innovative way to produce ceramic body armor, a very strong but lightweight material, with a 3-D printer. This does seems ironic due to the fact that 3-D printers were not built to produce items like this. Generally, most body armor consists of kevlar which was developed in the 1970s. However, ceramic body armor created through a 3-D printer may be revolutionary considering all of its advantages. If learned, creating ceramic body armor through a 3-D printer could be much more effective than the existent way because it becomes much less of a process and takes less time.  

The task of producing ceramic body armor was not quite so easy. Researchers had to literally hack into the printer in order to manufacture the body armor. 3-D printers are not necessarily designed to develop items like body armor, but Joshua Pelz, materials science and engineering doctoral candidate at the University of California San Diego, revealed a way to do so. With his advanced engineering skills, Pelz found a way for the printer to use its own fan controls to manipulate the ratio of materials being printed. 

Ceramic armor has the power to block bullets by shattering them or decreasing their penetrative ability. The armor is proven to be more durable and comfortable for soldiers because of how naturally it would wrap around someone. It is uncommon to find such a dynamic source of body armor that has the ability to be so light while also being very protective. It may not be so easy and efficient to produce, but it is definitely worth it at the end of the day due to all of its advantages. 

3-D printing will gradually become more and more common because of how effective it is. People have the potential of developing practically anything they want just under the roof of their homes. If printed ceramic armor proves to be reliable, do not be shocked if it becomes the new prominent form of body armor, according to nationalinterest.org.