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Cutting edge: Okinawa Marines say new metal 3D printer ‘opens up a whole new world’

Cutting edge: Okinawa Marines say new metal 3D printer ‘opens up a whole new world’

Written by David

January 28, 2020

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Members of the III Marine Expeditionary Force now have a cutting-edge metal 3D printer they say will pay dividends in cost and efficiency when it comes to manufacturing vehicle or weapon parts in the Indo-Pacific region.

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The Markforged Metal X 3D printer arrived at the 3rd Maintenance Battalion shop at Camp Kinser piece by piece, finally becoming operational in December, Marine officials said.

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Using spools of powdered stainless steel, tool steel and nickel alloy, it can simultaneously produce multiple metal parts that would be otherwise difficult to machine or cast. III MEF is the first expeditionary force to receive one of the $150,000 machines, said 3rd Marine Logistics Group spokeswoman 1st Lt. Tori Sharpe. The printer is expected to free up Marines who would otherwise spend hours carving parts out of blocks of metal, save money on waste and avoid the downtime associated with ordering […]

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