One day a 3D printer, using a mix of materials, will be able to create body armor for U.S. soldiers that is more lightweight and stronger than anything could be made with traditional manufacturing and materials today.
That's the word from researchers at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, who are working to revolutionize 3D printing, as well as the way that companies build products ranging from jet engines and satellites to football helmets.
Scientists at the laboratory, a federally funded center in Livermore, California, that focuses on national security research, are working on architecting new materials to be used in a process called additive manufacturing, more commonly known as 3D printing, and developing a technique for building multiple materials into the same product.
They're also studying the physics and chemistry at the base of the process in order to better understand how manufactured parts will stand up to conditions such as heat and stress, so they can predict a product's behaviors and performance.
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