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Rapid prototyping, three dimensional scanning and other information-based manufacturing technologies are finding their way onto the battlefield just as MASH units (Mobile Army Surgical Hospitals) did in the 1950’s. The motivation is pretty much the same: patch up what’s broken right at the point of action. Soldiers have a better chance to survive, and in the case of the Mobile Parts Hospital (MPH) pictured here, equipment can be put right back into service within hours instead of days or weeks. The first demonstration MPH unit is housed in a sleek, black 53 foot trailer. It’s being used for evaluation and also for training and gathering input from users. Phase II prototypes aren’t quite as sexy on the outside and are housed in standard sized camouflage-painted shipping containers. But inside they still have the capability to scan a broken part and fabricate a new one using a combination of rapid prototyping and CNC machining. The first demonstration unit uses selective laser sintering technology as pictured, but Phase II systems use laser engineered net-shaping (LENS) technology from Optomec. These systems are capable of producing fully-dense parts without secondary thermal operations and infiltration, a critical need according to Todd Richmond of the Army’s Tank-automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM).    Views of the interior of the Phase I trailer showing the three dimensional parts scanning system on the left, and on the right, a view of the selective laser sintering system used in that trial with CNC equipment in the background. Eventually a large on-board CAD database of parts will be available to MPH’s, and they’ll also be able to communicate by satellite link to obtain any missing data, but the scanning capability they have means that even old and outdated equipment can be replaced. A lot of the military’s very basic equipment is as much as 40 years old and in many cases pre-dates the CAD era, or may have come from a manufacturer that’s no longer in business. While battlefield requirements offer a life and death impetus to get things up and running, versions of such MPH’s are likely to eventually find their way into the civilian sector to make parts for such remotely-located machinery applications as oil rigs and mines, and in outer space. Update for 2008: Operational MPH units have been deployed in various areas in the middle east since 2003 where they have been proving their value on a daily-basis. Additive technology has not been part of the mix of technologies, however, and is still under development. For more info: Visit the US Army Web-site at: http://www.army.mil Search for the term "Mobile Parts Hospital" to bring up numerous articles and reference materials.