3D UNIFORMS FOR USA ARMY

It really seems like the US Army is discovering 3D printing in all its forms. Recently they made the news with plans for 3D printed food, skin as well as warheads. Their newest plan is to 3D print uniforms for soldiers. Those uniforms are currently being made using 2D CAD software, but the US Army thinks in the future 3D printing will play a major role in the production of those clothes.

The US Army has a center where those clothes are being made, called the US Army Natick Soldier Research, Development, and Engineering Center (NSRDEC). The NSRDEC provides for products such as hats, body armor and field clothing. Their team leader Annette LaFleur (pictured above) thinks incorporating 3D printing techniques could have a lot of benefits for the branche.
To Army Technology Magazine, LaFleur said the following about 3D printing:
   “It could improve flexibility. You could incorporate hard and soft materials together into one design. So, maybe you have some sort of clothing or protective item that has rigid areas that move into soft areas, where our body needs to flex. That could be really exciting because that is hard to accomplish with a regular textile.
via 3d-print.today