US Defense firm Lockheed Martin has opened a new 16,000-square-foot additive manufacturing facility. It will be located at the companys Missiles and Fire Control (MFC) site in Grand Prairie, Texas, which produces the precision-guided M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS).The new location includes large-format laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) 3D printers from Nikon SLM Solutions, reportedly some of the largest multi-laser systems in Texas. The facility also features heat treatment and inspection equipment to support the rapid production and deployment of metal 3D printed parts.By expanding additive manufacturing in one of its existing machining hubs, Lockheed Martin hopes to support its customers immediate and future product needs and drive the growth of 3D printing in aerospace and defense. Additive manufacturing reportedly allows the company to increase capacity and agility with its supply chain partners, creating a more robust and localized US industrial base.Additionally, the new facility supports the companys 1LMX digital transformation initiative. Announced in 2022, 1LMX sees Lockheed Martin leverage digital technologies, including AI and process automation, to optimize production and supply chain operations in response to global security threats.We continue to invest in AM technology to provide value for our customers in a way that empowers our engineers to innovate and rapidly integrate new product designs and capabilities to the production floor, commented Tom Carrubba, vice president of production operations at Lockheed Martin MFC. This allows us to create affordable and modular designs that can simplify both high and low-volume production processes.Nikon SLM Solutions 3D printers at Lockheed Martins additive manufacturing facility. Photo via Lockheed Martin.Lockheed Martin expands 3D printing capabilitiesThrough 1LMX, Lockheed Martin plans to establish an integrated digital thread throughout its product lifecycle to meet stringent customer requirements. According to Hector Sandoval, a Lockheed Martin fellow, the company is implementing 3D printing in the early stages of product design as a technical risk reduction tool.Sandoval highlighted additional advantages of additive manufacturing, including improved product performance and lower development and lead times. The 3D printers at the new facility are reportedly being used to produce intricate near-finished parts with lightweight structures. This reduces post-processing operations, cutting lead times and materials waste in the process.Additive manufacturing also allows Lockheed Martin to fabricate parts that cannot be produced using conventional manufacturing techniques. One example includes a hydraulic manifold traditionally machined from a large aluminum block. The design freedom afforded by additive manufacturing allowed the firm to unlock more complex geometries. This translated to more direct and better-flowing pathways between hydraulic connections, improving performance and saving weight.Lockheed Martin fellow Brian Kaplun stated that 3D printing allows Lockheed Martin to rapidly iterate and manufacture all of our products, resulting in savings and design freedom for all of our customers. He added, AM lives in the digital world and this allows us to support our customers in a far more nimble and responsive fashion than if we were using traditional design and manufacturing methods.Lockheed Martins 3D printed manifold (right) compared to the conventionally manufactured counterpart (left). Image via Lockheed Martin.Additive manufacturing at Lockheed MartinAdditive manufacturing is nothing new at Lockheed Martin. In 2022, the missile manufacturer joined then-President Joe Bidens AM Forward program. The voluntary agreement, which includes the likes of GE Aviation, Honeywell, Raytheon and Siemens Energy, seeks to promote 3D printing adoption to secure domestic supply chains and revitalize US manufacturing.Through the agreement, Lockheed Martin committed to conducting additive manufacturing research, advancing 3D printing development standards, and supporting workforce development and college programs.Building on the Forward AM initiative, Lockheed Martin and 3D printing service provider Sintavia partnered to expand research into metal additive manufacturing. The collaboration explored technology opportunities and identified where 3D printing offers value as an alternative to castings and forgings to enhance supply chain resilience.Earlier this year, Lockheed Martin announced it is 3D printing key components for its new Mako hypersonic missile. Metal additive manufacturing is being used to produce the jet-fired missiles guidance section and fins, reportedly unlocking substantial time and cost savings.According to Lockheed Martin, the 3D printed components are produced 10 times faster than conventional methods and at just 1/10th of the cost. Work on Mako began in 2017. The missile is now at readiness level six plus, meaning it is ready for production. Lockheed says Mako is fast and it is ready now.Elsewhere, the company has leveraged additive manufacturing to 3D print F-35 simulator cockpits, hypersonic ramjet engines, and GMLRS components. For the latter, Lockheed leveraged a model-based engineering approach to redesign a GMLRS antenna assembly test unit with fewer parts. This reportedly enabled cost savings and reduced production times by months.Looking ahead, the firm acknowledged that it has identified significant AM opportunities for its existing production programs. It may replace conventional manufacturing with 3D printing to save costs and time, fabricate large-scale structures, consolidate parts, and further secure supply chains to gain advantages over near-peer threats.An additively produced Mako guidance section under inspection. Photo via Lockheed Martin.3D printing missiles in the USLockheed Martins additive manufacturing expansion reflects a broader trend of adoption in North America to bolster the supply of critical defense components. The United States Department of Defense (DoD) has invested significant capital in 3D printing to restock US inventories and support Ukraine and Israels ongoing war efforts. The Pentagons annual budget requests for missiles, munitions procurement, and related research and development, increased from $9 billion in 2015 to $30.6 billion in 2024.To meet this demand, Italian rocket and missile manufacturer Avio recently expanded the production of missile solid rocket motors (SRMs). The company produces 3D printed missile propulsion systems and possesses Velo3D Sapphire 3D printers. It currently fabricates between 200 and 300 rockets annually at its Colleferro facility. Expansion efforts will reportedly increase this capacity threefold in the next 4-5 years.This move follows news in July that Avio partnered with Raytheon Technologies (RTX) to build a US industrial base for critical SRMs. The Virginia-based missile submitted 1,441 3D printing-related international patent family (IFP) applications between 2001 and 2020, second only to General Electric (GE).Elsewhere, it was announced in September 2024 that rocket engine manufacturer Ursa Major will receive $12.5 million from the US Navy and the Office of Strategic Capital (OSC) to scale SRM production. Ursa Major will use the funding to mature the Lynx manufacturing process, which it uses to 3D print solid rocket motor components.This follows the announcement earlier this year that the company is 3D printing the Navys Mk 104 dual rocket motor, which powers the SM-2, SM-3, and SM-6 missiles. The company hopes to alleviate the DoDs procurement challenges by accelerating the production of key missile components on American soil.All the news from Formnext 2024.Who are the leaders in additive manufacturing? 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