US: Start producing weapons using 3D printing technology

American manufacturer Raytheon announced that it will widely apply 3D printing technology to the production process of military equipment, especially the missile manufacturing industry.

Raytheon has recently ordered a number of high-capacity 3D printers capable of creating large-scale components used in the weapons industry. Raytheon experts calculate that the application of 3D printing technology in weapons production, especially missile production, meets the requirements of high precision and speed.

Rocket engines are manufactured using 3D printing technology.

According to some sources, Raytheon's research unit has tried to manufacture some components mounted on missiles and even some small-sized complete missile prototypes using 3D printers. Most notably, complex components such as engines, rudders, casings and missile control systems are all manufactured using this advanced technology.

According to Raytheon officials, 3D printing technology not only helps reduce product costs compared to traditional manufacturing methods, but also helps quickly and easily change product designs.

“For many products, design changes that used to take weeks now only take hours,” said engineer Travis Mayberry, who is overseeing the application of 3D printing technology to production at Raytheon. According to him, 3D printing technology at present allows the production of 80% of the components that make up a missile. In addition, 3D printing technology also helps to create special, small-sized components that traditional manufacturing methods cannot do.

A missile prototype produced entirely using 3D printing technology by Raytheon.

Regarding this issue, Raytheon leader Taylor Lawrence stated that although the application of 3D printing technology at the world's leading missile manufacturer is only in the early stages, Raytheon's goal is that all equipment and weapons can be produced right on the battlefield to meet all needs of the military.

Along with Raytheon, many weapons manufacturers such as Lockheed Martin and MBDA are also actively applying 3D printing technology in the production process of weapons and equipment. Recently, Lockheed Martin has tried to manufacture some components of the Trident II D5 submarine-launched ballistic missile using 3D printing technology. Lockheed Martin representative said that the new technology allows to shorten the product manufacturing time by half compared to traditional assembly methods.

According to qdnd