Newsflash: places with machine shops need to fabricate objects, so they use the latest technology available. Surprise to uneducated people: US Navy ships have machine shops on-board, because they often need to fabricate objects while at sea. The surprising twist: when you're at sea, you can't just order from Amazon, you have to make it right then and there. Crazy, eh?
US Navy ships have machine shops on-board, because they often need to fabricate objects while at sea.
Other than carriers and large support vessels however, the machine shops are generally pretty basic and operated by relatively unskilled/inexperienced people. (They're trained in the operation of the tools, but it's not their full time job.)
3D printing is a game changer even for the Navy in that it requires essentially no skill or significant training.
Look, here are some pictures of an older carrier's machine shop [midwaysailor.com]. No, you won't find this on a small cruiser - but you also don't find the poor little cruiser out in the middle of the ocean by itself. So if gizmo A breaks on the little boat, the big boat's machine shop can likely fix it.
Having some 3D printers isn't going to materially change things. It will change things a little - those pictures are from a post WW 2 carrier, I imagine newer boats have full on CNC machines. And I imagine that, sooner or
This just in (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:This just in (Score:3)
Other than carriers and large support vessels however, the machine shops are generally pretty basic and operated by relatively unskilled/inexperienced people. (They're trained in the operation of the tools, but it's not their full time job.)
3D printing is a game changer even for the Navy in that it requires essentially no skill or significant training.
Re: (Score:3)
Look, here are some pictures of an older carrier's machine shop [midwaysailor.com]. No, you won't find this on a small cruiser - but you also don't find the poor little cruiser out in the middle of the ocean by itself. So if gizmo A breaks on the little boat, the big boat's machine shop can likely fix it.
Having some 3D printers isn't going to materially change things. It will change things a little - those pictures are from a post WW 2 carrier, I imagine newer boats have full on CNC machines. And I imagine that, sooner or
You have no idea what you're talking about. (Score:2)
Actually, yes, you do. The Navy does a lot more than just sail around in full carrier centric battle groups.
They don't.