3D printers to help Ukraine with spare parts

Ukraine has received 3D printers to be able to manufacture spare parts for its weapons systems.
The idea is to be able to manufacture the parts on site to shorten the logistics chain.
– You don’t need to stock up or transport a large stock of stuff. You manufacture what is needed when it is needed and where it is needed, says Kent Andersson, lieutenant colonel and university lecturer at the Defense Academy.

It is the United States that has donated 3D printers to Ukraine so that they can manufacture spare parts for advanced weapons systems. It is about printers that are approximately three by three meters and stand in a container with pre- and post-processing of what is printed, says Kent Andersson, lieutenant colonel and university lecturer at the University of Defense.

– You can manufacture very complex structures, metal products that may be needed in these combat vehicles, perhaps that are standing still on the battlefield right now. Or other weapons systems that are important for Ukraine, says Kent Andersson and continues:

– If it is to be of great use, I think that it is used for these exclusive weapon systems of which there are not that many, but for which it can be difficult to obtain parts.

Shortens the logistics chain

When you can now manufacture equipment on site, manufacturing is brought closer to the end user. And by using a 3D printer instead of ordering from factories in the USA, you increase efficiency, according to Kent Andersson.

– You don’t need to stock up or transport a large stock of stuff. You manufacture what is needed when it is needed and where it is needed.

– What significance it has for the war remains to be seen. But where Ukraine is breaking through right now, the logistics are certainly difficult. They must have the logistics with them when they advance, he continues.

Used in healthcare

The technology is based on the principle of layer upon layer, which means that you do not use more material than you need. To print something in 3D, you need a digital drawing that you send to the printer.

A 3D printer can make almost anything and it can also be used in other industries. Cecilia Persson is professor of materials science. She explains that you can, for example, replace parts of a lost bone with the help of a 3D printer. The technology makes it possible to tailor a titanium plate so that the implant is individually adapted.

– We think it is extremely exciting and it is one of the fascinations with 3D printing that you can actually do it. And solving cases that might not have been possible to solve before, she says.

She says that it is around the skull and jaw area where it has come the furthest and where it is used the most.

– Just with the design part, there are really no restrictions. What is a limitation is the time it takes to print and how large parts you can make.