3D printers enter the battlefield

New Scientist : Because the US Army has seen a shift in deployments from large concentrations of soldiers to smaller, more isolated outposts, it has had difficulty resupplying parts for broken equipment. To address this concern, the army has created three mobile labs, which are equipped with 3D printers and tools such as plasma cutters, for the onsite fabrication of parts. The $2.8 million labs can be deployed by helicopter, and the first reached Afghanistan in July, where it has already been used for everything from repairs to innovative design work. When soldiers found that one of their radar systems’ batteries were failing in the extreme heat, they used the 3D printer to create shielding. The design was so successful that the army adopted the modification and mass-produced the shielding for other units. Outside of the army, some groups see the potential of similar units for disaster-recovery efforts, though the current price of the labs may be cost prohibitive.