The future of Marine Corps logistics took shape last month in the form of a plastic Humvee door handle printed in an Arizona desert.

Marines with Marine Wing Support Squadron 372 successfully generated the replacement part using a 3-D printer under austere field conditions during the Weapons and Tactics Instructor course, a seven-week training school for advanced air and ground tactics aboard Marine Corps Air Station Yuma.

"I'm nerdy, so to me this is pretty awesome," Capt. Marc Blair, combat engineer officer with the unit, said in a statement. "Imagine what the battlefield could be like in 15 years."

MWSS-372 became one of the first units in the Marine Corps to experiment with 3-D printing -- also known as "additive manufacturing" -- after Commandant Gen. Robert Neller put out a call to action in September for Marines to begin exploring the new technology that allows a user to design and fabricate parts on the spot.

Marine administrative message  489/16 lays out policy guidance on using 3-D printers to fix or replace worn and broken parts, redesign existing parts and conjure up entirely new parts which might do the job better.

"Furthermore, [additive manufacturing] can 'print' prosthetics, electronic components, large scale decoys, unmanned aerial vehicles and expeditionary shelters," the MARADMIN states. "The uses and limits of [3-D printing] have only just begun to be discovered."


The potential impact on the Corps is enormous, especially downrange.

While high-end items tend to be generally well-stocked, smaller, cheap plastic parts -- like Humvee handles -- are all-too-often harder to come by.


Blair chanced upon a 3-D printer demonstration while attending an emerging technologies roadshow held by Marine Corps Systems Command to scope new engineering gear.

He recognized its potential, and spearheaded efforts to procure funding for a 3-D printer for MWSS-372 through Installations and Logistics' Next Log Innovation Cell.


"It’s a really basic model," said Capt. Kristina Warren, motor transport company commander with MWSS-372, in the release. "It’s actually meant for K-12 students in order to get the basics of 3-D printing down."

Setting the machine up took three hours the first time, Warren said, but she is confident it would take less than an hour now that they're familiar with it.


The print time for the new handle: 45 minutes.

"Being able to quick[ly] print a part instead of having to wait for the field supply system could give us some huge capabilities in the long run," she said.

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