| Submit your comments on this article |
| China-Japan-Koreas |
| An Instant PLA: Just Add 3D Printing |
| 2018-11-22 |
| [Jamestown Foundation] In the PRC, the promise of 3D printing (三维打印 or 3D打印技术) has stretched the boundaries of possible future applications. The PRC is pushing ahead with innovative ways of employing 3D printing across all sectors of its economy, from prosthetics to titanium-based aerospace parts, to a sustainably-built bus stop shelter outside Shanghai (Winsun, 2017). The PRC is also pioneering concepts and applications for 3D printing of materiel, weaponry, and munitions for use by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Even though Western standards identify upwards of ten 3D printing methods, the PRC sources reviewed in 2015 list only six 3D printing methods (ISO, 2015; ALL3DP, 2018) [3]. The six processes include: Fused Deposition Modeling (熔融沉积成型), Selected Laser Sintering (选择性激光烧结), Selective Laser Melting (选择性激光熔融), Stereolithography Appearance (立体光刻), Electron Beam Melting (电子束熔化), and Laminated Object Manufacturing (分层实体制造) [4] [5]. This discrepancy in methods is likely because of the rapidity with which this technology has advanced since 2015. Despite the differences in the number of methodologies, 3D printing technology essentially breaks down into “what” and “how” material is added and joined. 3D printers themselves are quite intricate and include both hardware and software components. Hardware generally includes the printer assemblies, the nozzles, and the requisite mixture of feedstock required for fabrication, among other components. Meanwhile, software consists of specified supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems and large, memory-intensive blueprints required for production, known as computer-aided design files (CADs) (电脑辅助设计). The US Department of Defense’s 2018 report to Congress on military and security developments involving the PRC points out that the collaboration between the PRC’s Ministry of Science and Technology and the PLA Central Military Commission’s Science and Technology Commission described in the 13th Five-Year Plan-Military-Civilian Fusion Science & Technology Developmental Guide make that document a “roadmap for military-civilian fusion efforts in the next five years”, one meant to benefit both the PRC economy and the PLA through a specific focus on advanced manufacturing techniques. Also, the “plan aims to develop internationally competitive leading enterprises; improve technical, equipment, and quality standards to international levels; and create a long-term industrial supply chain and perfect mass production” (Office of the Secretary of Defense, May 16, 2018) [7]. |
| Posted by:3dc |
| #1 Friend got a chinese 3d printer, he is happy with it. and gave the service 5 stars. |
| Posted by: Spanky Whuter1088 2018-11-22 19:01 |