US Army opens AM facility with more than 50 3D printers
New makerspace at Picatinny Arsenal's Armaments Center expands prototyping and fabrication capacity for DEVCOM engineers
The US Army has officially opened an Additive Makerspace at Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey, to expand its AM and rapid prototyping capacity for engineers at the US Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) Armaments Center.
The premises, housed under the Analysis, Materials, and Prototyping Directorate (AMPD) within the Armaments Center’s Munitions Engineering Technical Center (METC), contain more than 50 3D printers that offer a range of printing technologies and material options.
“The space is here for the Picatinny community to work on prototype design and manufacturing,” stated Matthew Clemente, Mechanical Engineer at AMPD. “It serves to add additive manufacturing capacity to the community’s projects.”
AMPD’s mission covers manufacturing, engineering analysis, producibility, prototyping, and reverse engineering in support of armaments technologies. Thomas Fasano, Senior Scientific Technical Manager of AMPD, said the facility would serve engineers working at speed.
“We know this space will be a valuable tool for Armaments Center engineers to utilize these technologies and expertise,” he said, “so we can drive speed and innovation to the battlefield.”
Broader military manufacturing push
The Picatinny opening is part of a wider effort across the US military to expand additive manufacturing capacity.
Comparable facilities have been established at other Army and Department of Defense locations, including the Maneuver Innovation Lab at Fort Moore, Georgia, and the Airborne Innovation Lab at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. The technology has been applied to fabricate items ranging from simple plastic buckles to complex metal vehicle components.
By bringing fabrication capacity closer to the point of need, the Army aims to reduce dependence on traditional supply chains and increase operational readiness.
