Fort Campbell, Ky. – (CLARKSVILLENOW) – Soldiers from Bravo Company of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, “Rakkasans,” of the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell conducted some explosives tests this week to help determine the viability of using 3D-printed materials in their equipment.
The 3D-printed materials are coming from the mechanical engineering department at Vanderbilt University, which has formed a collaboration with Bravo Company and Fort Campbell.
“I think the ultimate goal is to be able to get a product in a fast time,” said Aimee Valles, Company Commander of Bravo Company, 3BCT. “Something that is less expensive, and something that maybe we can bring into rugged environments and still be able to print out and use…It’s absolutely about improving the readiness of the Army.”
The professor in charge of working with Commander Valles and Bravo Company is Dr. Kevin Galloway, Research Assistant Professor in the department of mechanical engineering at Vanderbilt.
On Tuesday, August 28, Dr. Galloway met with Bravo Company to conduct the tests, setting off explosives with the 3D-printed equipment.
“Today, we’re testing some prototypes, and really evaluating the capabilities of 3D printing and rapid manufacturing tools to see the strength of these materials compared to existing army equipment,” Dr. Galloway said. “It was great seeing how all the things come together. Seeing the protocols that are in place, seeing the equipment, how people interface with it. Getting that primary kind of research, seeing it firsthand, gives you a lot more intuition as to how somebody might interact with what you are designing. It also gives you greater insights into what improvements you might want to make in the future.”
Speaking about the results and what’s next, Commander Valles said, “Things are looking good. I think we’re going to go back to the lab, continue to print some things out, and…see if it produces similar results.” To that effect, the engineer in Dr. Galloway has already gotten the better of him. “I’ve got some material choices I want to tweak. I was happy with the results today, but I think we could do better.”
If you’re interested in seeing an explosion test, check out the video above, or watch it on YouTube. For more videos, visit ClarksvilleNow’s YouTube channel.