Xerox partners with U.S. Navy on military-focused 3D printing research

Xerox is teaming with the U.S. Navy”™s Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) on a research project to determine the role that 3D printing can play in the military supply chain.

NPS has received a Xerox ElemX Liquid Metal Printer on its university campus in Monterey, California, where faculty and students are studying new ways that on-demand 3D printing can create metal parts and equipment for the Navy and Marine Corps. The Xerox ElemX printer uses aluminum wire to fabricate end-use parts, which Norwalk-headquartered Xerox said could potentially reduce dependency on global supply chains and the costs of traditional manufacturing.

“The military supply chain is among the most complex in the world, and NPS understands first-hand the challenges manufacturers must address,” said Xerox Chief Technology Officer Naresh Shanker. “This collaboration will aid NPS in pushing adoption of 3D printing throughout the U.S. Navy, and will provide Xerox valuable information to help deliver supply chain flexibility and resiliency to future customers.”

“As the Department of the Navy”™s applied research university, NPS combines student operational experience with education and research to deliver innovative capabilities and develop innovative leaders with the knowhow to use them,” said NPS President, retired Vice Adm. Ann Rondeau. “This collaborative research effort with Xerox and the use of their 3D printing innovations is a great example of how NPS uniquely prepares our military students to examine novel approaches to create, make, prototype and manufacture capability wherever they are.”