3D-Printed Temporary Use Parts Reduce Downtime for Army Vehicles

March 13, 2025

The Army's Jointless Hull subsection tool is a hybrid metal additive manufacturing machine, located at the Advanced Manufacturing Commercialization Center in Sterling Heights, Michigan. The Jointless Hull subsection tool supports the full-size Jointless Hull machine at Rock Island Arsenal – Joint Manufacturing and Technology Center, which produces parts for the Army and Defense Department. (Image: U.S. Army Photo by Chris Estrada)

Army additive manufacturing experts are using an advanced materials process to replace damaged ground vehicle parts more quickly, reducing vehicle down-time in formations.

The Battle Damage Repair and Fabrication (BDRF) process uses 3D computer-aided design models and additive manufacturing machines to temporarily replace vehicle parts with long procurement lead times and parts which have been rendered obsolete.

The advanced technology helps preserve the lifecycle of older platforms and reduce the Army’s overall logistics burden.

Kevin Thomas, an additive manufacturing engineer at U.S. Army DEVCOM Ground Vehicle Systems Center, scans a part for Battle-Damaged Repair Fabrication at the Sierra Army Depot in Herlong, California. The repair process uses 3D computer-aided design models and additive manufacturing machines to temporarily replace vehicle parts with long procurement lead times and parts which have been rendered obsolete. (Image: U.S. Army Photo courtesy of Laurence Rose)

Led by the U.S. Army Tank-automotive Armaments Command (TACOM), the BDRF effort brings together the U.S. Army DEVCOM Ground Vehicle Systems Center, TACOM Integrated Logistics Support Center, and Rock Island Arsenal – Joint Manufacturing and Technology Center to fill in production gaps through an expertise in additive manufacturing.

“The sum of our parts in this effort is what makes the BDRF process possible,” said Christopher Spangler, GVSC Materials Division Advanced Manufacturing Branch Chief. “Without TACOM providing the lead in tandem with GVSC’s research, and Rock Island’s manufacturing capabilities, none of this happens. We’re learning a lot through working with our partners here.”

For the past year, GVSC has supported TACOM and the ILSC through assessments of more than 40,000 vehicle parts, leading to the development of more than 600 3D CAD models to be manufactured at Rock Island. The parts are scanned and uploaded to a database, a process which allows parts to be fabricated on-demand for vehicle lifecycle sustainment. Once printed, the parts can then be used as temporary replacements to keep battle-worn vehicles in the fight for longer.

Michael Hansen, TACOM’s advanced manufacturing lead, said the BDRF program is shaping the future of Army sustainment. Since early 2024, parts for nearly four dozen product lines have been produced and approved for temporary use.

“Units are installing those parts on vehicles and bringing equipment back to mission-capable status,” Hansen said. “In collaboration with our partners, we hope to use 3D printing and other advanced manufacturing techniques to generate readiness as far forward on the field as possible.”

Hansen noted that some temporary-use parts produced under the BDRF program have been shown in tests to outperform original manufactured parts and have been submitted to the program manager for consideration as a permanent secondary source of supply.

The partnership also further develops GVSC’s own advanced manufacturing efforts. In 2023, GVSC opened a new Advanced Manufacturing Commercialization Center (AMCC) to support commercial and federal advanced manufacturing priorities. Currently, the AMCC directly supports Rock Island’s production efforts with tools such as the Jointless Hull subsection, a hybrid metal additive manufacturing machine in support of the full-size Jointless Hull machine at Rock Island.

The collaborative effort on the BDRF process enables GVSC’s engineers to provide advanced manufacturing support from the AMCC, Spangler said.

“In the future, we’re planning to have the AMCC capable of conducting initial engineering builds and have access to a limited testing of components based on criticality level; but will continue to rely on Rock Island for any production needs.”

Source