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MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan \u2014 State-of-the-art parts fabrication is keeping America\u2019s most advanced stealth fighter in the air during its first deployment aboard the USS Wasp.<\/p>\n<\/u>El empleo en Unidades Log\u00edsticas del US Marines, de equipamiento para \u201cfabricaci\u00f3n Aditiva\u201d (3D- Printing), permiti\u00f3 mantener operativo un moderno avi\u00f3n F35 que operaba a bordo del buque USS Wasp. La rotura de una protecci\u00f3n pl\u00e1stica del tren de aterrizaje del aeronave, la hab\u00eda puesto fuera de servicio. La novedad fue solucionada fabricando la pieza con equipos de 3D-Printing existentes en el buque, lo cual pone en evidencia las posibilidades que brinda este revolucionario concepto, a la log\u00edstica de sostenimiento de los sistemas.<\/p>\n
MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan \u2014 State-of-the-art parts fabrication is keeping America\u2019s most advanced stealth fighter in the air during its first deployment aboard the USS Wasp.<\/p>\n
When a plastic bumper for a landing-gear door wore out this month on an F-35B Lightning II embarked on the amphibious assault ship, a 3-D printer was used to whip up a new one.<\/p>\n
The Iwakuni-based jet from Fighter Attack Squadron 121 later flew successfully with the new part, a Navy statement said.<\/p>\n
Called \u201cadditive manufacturing,\u201d the process from Naval Air Systems Command allowed the Marines of Combat Logistics Battalion 31 to create the new bumper and get it approved for use within days, the statement said. Otherwise, they would have had to replace the entire door assembly, which is expensive and time consuming.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWhile afloat, our motto is \u2018fix it forward,\u2019\u201d Chief Warrant Officer 2 Daniel Rodriguez, CLB-31\u2019s maintenance officer, said in the statement. \u201c3-D printing is a great tool to make that happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Navy said parts created using the 3-D printer are only a temporary fix, but it kept the jet from being grounded while waiting for a replacement from the United States.<\/p>\n
Lt. Col Richard Rusnok, commander of VMFA-121, lauded the use of the new technology.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlthough our supply personnel and logisticians do an outstanding job getting us parts, being able to rapidly make our own parts is a huge advantage as it cuts down our footprint thus making us more agile in a shipboard or expeditionary environment,\u201d he said in the statement.<\/p>\n
Marine Sgt. Adrian Willis, a computer and telephone technician who created the bumper, said he was thrilled to be involved in the process.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think 3-D printing is definitely the future \u2014 it\u2019s absolutely the direction the Marine Corps needs to be going,\u201d he said in the statement.<\/p>\n
The printer has been used multiple times during the patrol, the Navy said, including to create a lens cap for a camera on a small, unmanned ground vehicle used by an explosive ordnance disposal team.<\/p>\n
Templates for the parts will be uploaded to a Marine Corps-wide 3-D printing database to make them accessible to other units.<\/p>\n