SIMULATION-BASED EVALUATION ON INTEGRATING ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING CAPABILITY IN A DEPLOYED MILITARY ENVIRONMENT

This article develops a data-driven forecast of repair parts for the M109A6 Paladin self-propelled 155 mm howitzer, and this forecast drives a discrete-event simulation to assess requirements for Additive Manufacturing (AM) to be a feasible part of the U.S. Army's expeditionary supply chain. Actual part demand from the initial invasion of Iraq in 2003 during Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) feeds a sample-path-based forecasting method to obtain part demand for each scenario. A simulation of a conceptualized deployed Army 3D-printing facility integrated into the supply chain evaluates the performance and feasibility of the different operational policies. Results indicate current technology could support one battery (or smaller unit) for parts below 100 cubic inches while keeping performance comparable with OIF. These results are incorporated in realistic recommendations for how the Army can potentially improve its supply chain practices with this progressive technology.