Seabees take 3-D on deployment

GULFPORT, Miss. - Seabees from Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 133 deployed from here for the first time in mid-February to 5th, 6th, and 7th Fleet areas of operation with organic 3-D additive manufacturing printing capabilities. NMCB-133 was outfitted with several Tactical Fabrication (TACFAB) Kits consisting of 3-D scanners, printers, laptops computers, and the software to tie them together. The Seabee unit’s Cmdr. Luke Greene has a vision to use the kits both at the command HQ at Camp Mitchell in Rota, Spain, and throughout NMCB-133’s job sites in Europe, Africa, and Southeast Asia. The capability to engineer and print both original designs and certain stock numbered items will be a game changer for the Seabees. Access to critical components can often be the difference-maker between mission success and long delays. Additive manufacturing technology builds 3-D objects by layering material (plastic, metal or concrete) atop one another. The process involves a computer and special CAD software that relays messages to the printer to make the desired shape. Chief Construction Mechanic Gail Best was witness to the potential of this technology. The team printed a bushing for the adjustable shock absorber used on medium tactical vehicle replacement tractors and wreckers. “We cannot order this particular part separately, so if it fails, we have to replace the entire shock absorber” at $10,000 a pop, she said. “We were able to print a new bushing … for about $1 and installed it.” In the future, 3-D printing could give Seabees the ability to print needed supplies and repair parts on the battlefield, according to Cmdr. Joe Symmes, 22 Naval Construction Regiment’s supply officer. (Source: 22 Naval Construction Regiment 02/15/19)