BAE Systems Chemputer: Supplemental 3D Printing Tech Grows Military Drones Via Chemical Reaction Speed-Up

First Posted: Jul 05, 2016 12:13 PM EDT
Close

Chemputer technology, a supplemental 3D printing technology, speeds up the chemical reaction from the molecular level, while the 3D printers physically make the parts of the machine. This breakthrough may mean it would only take weeks to build an aircraft.

A number of 3D scientists and engineers in the United Kingdom are thinking of growing the number of drones. Armed forces, across the world, are presently relying greatly on unmanned land, air and underwater vehicles.

Prof. Lee Cronin of Glasgow University, with the industrial advice from BAE Systems, is developing a new innovation that takes 3D printing to another level. He is working on chemputer, which will be able to grow small scale drones in a laboratory with the inspiration that 3D printing technology is now being used widely by the military, Digital Journal reported.

The Chemputer technology developer Prof. Cronin admits that it would be very challenging to create even the smallest aircrafts out of chemical compounds. However, he said that they will be able to assemble complex objects with minimal human assistance by developing an autonomous digital synthesis engine at some point in the future. Though it seems to be a long way off, another innovation might be much nearer.

British warplanes, for example, already fly with parts made from a 3D printer. Recently, researchers are testing that same technology to build drones. They believe that building equipment quickly to provide safer battlefield advantage may benefit the army significantly against an enemy, News Week reported.

Reaction Engines Limited, a small British company, is also developing a rocket that could fly at hypersonic speeds. The hypersonic speed is roughly defined as Mach 5, Mach 1 is about 760mph. Flying at high speed and high altitude in space could also avoid air defense systems and anti-aircraft missiles.

The Chemputer and 3D technologies are recently being used as means of advantage for the defense industry, especially in the battlefield.

See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone

©2017 ScienceWorldReport.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The window to the world of science news.

Join the Conversation

Real Time Analytics