Post on 15-Jan-2016
LMI Research Institute:
Additive Manufacturing and the DoD Supply Chain
April 30, 2014
Manager, LMI Research Institute
Consultant, LMI Logistics Analysis Group
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Contents
• Background• Additive Manufacturing and the DoD Supply Chain• Next Steps
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Background
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What is Additive Manufacturing (AM)?
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Modern Deployable AM
• Rapid Equipping Force’s (REF) Expeditionary Lab – Mobile– Housed in standard 20ft shipping
container
– Included polymer 3D printer & CNC milling machine
– Not meant to replace parts, but to develop new parts
www.army.mil
www.core77.com
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Previous PSMC Discussions on AM
• Oct 2012 – Direct Digital Manufacturing
The considerations presented in 2012 are even more relevant today.
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Additive Manufacturing and the DoD Supply Chain
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Overview of DoD Supply Chain
• Supports multiple missions on a global scale• Involves building inventories customers can draw on
when needed • Fiscal Year 2012 supply chain figures
– Approximately 4.7 million parts1
– $95 billion worth of secondary items in inventory1
– $370 million in storage at Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) warehouses2
– Variable customer wait times of days, weeks, or months• Over 400,000 field level requests filled in range of 53 to 433 days1
1https://scitools.lmi.org/Default.aspx2DoD Comprehensive Inventory Management Improvement Plan FY12
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Potential Implications of AM on the DoD Supply Chain
9
Manufacturing Distribution Customer
Design Information & Raw Materials
Manufacturing at Customer Location
Conventional Supply Chain
Forward AM Supply Chain
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AM Advantages & Disadvantages
Advantages
Smaller logistics footprintLower total costShorter build times for certain partsHigher parts accuracyGreater range of parts
Disadvantages
Greater need for process qualificationNeed to establish quality control proceduresSmaller lot sizesGreater need for technical data formatted for CAMRequires additional training
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Next Steps
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Next Steps
• Evaluating decision-making tool for deployable AM that we created with VA Tech
• Creating more robust decision process to evaluate AM for reparables
• Considering standardization issues– Technical data– Materials– Process qualification– Quality control/assurance
Additive manufacturing will disrupt supply chains.
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Contact Information
Manager, LMI Research Institute(703) 917-7174
Consultant, LMI(703) 917-7369