The Naval Aviation College for Additive Manufacturing (NASAM) is fostering collaboration throughout forces to make sure lethality and readiness wherever warfighters want it. Lately, two US Military troopers used the abilities they discovered at NASAM to provide important components whereas deployed in help of Mixed Joint Process Pressure – Operation Inherent Resolve.
SPC James Martin and SPC Harry Vo, troopers from the US Military tenth Mountain Division’s Allied Trades Crew, just lately utilized their NASAM coaching to handle important tools wants throughout deployment.
When Process Pressure Wolverine encountered limitations with their Starshield communications system resulting from an absence of an antenna mount for mine-resistant ambush-protected autos, Martin and Vo designed and 3D printed a mounting bracket that met all operational necessities. Their resolution supplied favorable antenna positioning, strong safety, and diminished injury threat whereas sustaining full performance of the automobile’s emergency hatch and turret and maximizing connectivity.
Martin and Vo produced the prototype utilizing acrylonitrile styrene acrylate, a extremely sturdy polymer with strong UV and warmth resistance. Although this particular materials wasn’t coated of their NASAM coaching, the foundational information they gained on the faculty helped them adapt to utilizing totally different programs and supplies.
Their AM resolution additionally diminished manufacturing time and prices dramatically. “This profitable cross-service coaching demonstrates how AM capabilities can present instant options to operational challenges throughout the Division of Protection,” stated Theodore Gronda, NAVAIR’s AM program supervisor. “When provide chains can’t ship, AM delivers.”
Whereas primarily established for Navy and Marine Corps personnel, NASAM sometimes accommodates college students from different navy branches. The six-week program, hosted by the Institute for Superior Studying and Analysis in Danville, Virginia, offers foundational expertise in AM that prepare upkeep personnel to provide supply-chain-gapped components on-site and on-demand.
“AM’s mission is to enhance operational readiness and lethality,” stated Capt. Alexander Peabody, senior fleet liaison for NAVAIR AM. “The fact is that even throughout peacetime, provide chain disruptions necessitate the power to reverse engineer or redesign elements to take care of the operational functionality of ships and plane.”
NASAM started with a pilot cohort of 12 college students in February 2024 and continues to prepare navy upkeep personnel in AM applied sciences.
