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 later, there will be 3D printers. But they won't be game changers, they will simply be evolutionary changes.
3D printers are NOT generic replacement devices. They can only make a narrow range of 'things'. A decent CNC mill is quite a bit more versatile, even if you have to go to school to learn how to use it.
This just in (Score:4, Interesting)
Re: (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:This just in (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 later, there will be 3D printers. But they won't be game changers, they will simply be evolutionary changes.
3D printers are NOT generic replacement devices. They can only make a narrow range of 'things'. A decent CNC mill is quite a bit more versatile, even if you have to go to school to learn how to use it.
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.