Wanted to call your attention to an August 13, 2015 article posted on the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) News Center website entitled “3D Printing Could Help DLA Cut Costs, Improve Parts Support (13 Aug 15).” 

According to the article, “the Defense Logistics Agency is evaluating whether 3D printing (a.k.a., Additive Manufacturing), a process commercial manufacturers use to produce everything from prosthetics to airplane parts, could lower the cost and reduce lead times for hard-to-source, obsolete and back-ordered parts.” Moreover, “DLA’s research and development team is working with a contractor to identify by September the first 10 items for which it will pursue 3D modeling and manufacturing,” according to the chief of research and development for DLA Logistics Operations.

If you’re new to the Additive Manufacturing arena, or would like to learn more about the potential benefits of these emerging technologies, encourage you to take a look at this article for insights into how DLA is approaching these technologies. For your convenience, we have also added a link to the article to the Additive Manufacturing website on our DAU Logistics Community of Practice (LOG CoP).

Additionally, as I shared with you back in a May 19, 2015 blog post entitled “Additive Manufacturing Overview Videos Now Available”,

“…in conjunction with Deloitte University Press, DAU (has) deployed a series of Additive Manufacturing-focused video vignettes in the DAU Media Library. The comprehensive overview of this important emerging topic is presented in 26 easy-to-understand, relatively short videos (ranging in length from three to ten minutes each) that address both technical aspects and business application potential of additive manufacturing. Although the videos are not DoD-centric in their construct, the target audience for these new learning assets includes defense acquisition workforce members from multiple functional communities including life cycle logistics, production, quality and manufacturing (PQM), and systems engineering. A direct link to this training is available at https://dap.dau.mil/daustream/pages/AssetList.aspx?init-id=9.” 

Finally, regular readers have probably noticed I’ve been using this blog as a forum for sharing information on this important emerging topic, including several recent posts that include:

·         Additive Manufacturing (Jan 28, 2015)

·         Additive Manufacturing Overview Videos Now Available (May 19, 2015)

·         New GAO Report on Opportunities, Challenges, and Policy Implications of Additive Manufacturing (June 30, 2015)

·         Additive Manufacturing Specifications and Standards (July 5, 2015)