Fleet Readiness Center East (FRCE) has produced 2,000 O-ring installation tools for F-35 Lightning II aircraft using 3D printing technology. The project was completed in under two weeks, significantly faster than the estimated six-month timeline required through traditional acquisition methods. The tools have been distributed to U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and foreign military partners to support all variants of the F-35 fighter jet.
The FRCE Innovation Lab utilized digital light processing technology for this project, which uses ultraviolet light from a digital projector to cure liquid resins. This method proved highly efficient for mass production, as the system can cure an entire layer of multiple parts simultaneously. The team could produce 60 tools in a single batch taking just over an hour, making the technology particularly suitable for large-scale manufacturing needs.
“This is an incredible success story for additive manufacturing, but also our ability to leverage the implementation of advanced and innovative technologies to support the fleet,” said Randall Lewis, lead of the Fleet Support Team’s Advanced Technology and Innovation Team. FRCE has been designated the Commander, Fleet Readiness Centers Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence, reflecting its capabilities in this field.
The project required technical evaluation and testing before full production began. The team confirmed the printer’s resin medium would be chemical resistant and suitable for the tool’s intended environment. After initial assessment, slight modifications were made to the design before mass production commenced.
Since its establishment in 2020, the Innovation Lab has worked to develop additive manufacturing as a mainstream capability. Jeremy Bunting, Innovation Lab Lead Engineer, stated their goal is to make additive manufacturing routine: “We want to be able to productionize additive manufacturing so we can quote it and work it just like any other job.” FRCE, North Carolina’s largest maintenance, repair, overhaul and technical services provider, employs more than 4,000 workers and generates annual revenue exceeding $1 billion.
Source: navy.mil