# 3D Printing > General 3D Printing Discussion >  Army to 3D print electronics & some weapon components to help soldiers

## Eddie

> Researchers at Picatinny Arsenal in New Jersey, a military research and manufacturing facility, are using additive manufacturing and *3D printing* to print electronics, weapon components, and training models.
> *The Army* has been making use of *3D printing* technologies for a few years. In 2014 the Pentagon will be dabbling more in 3D printing. Their new step is to employ 3D electronic printing that could allow antennas to be printed onto a helmet or sensors into clothing – as well as the wing of an unmanned aerial vehicle to be printed in a single print job.
> Researchers use an ink-jet printer and current-conducting inks, such as silver, to print electronics. This process allows engineers to potentially print sensors directly onto a weapon or an article of clothing. For instance, a radio antenna made of silver nanoparticles printed onto a flexible polyimide substrate could be embedded into a Soldier's helmet, replacing the antenna that currently attaches to the headgear. Or, electronics could be printed on the side of artillery, freeing up space inside the round.
> Potential benefits from the research include smaller, lighter electronics, less waste, and the ability to produce items on the spot.
> "Instead of having to machine out the groves and put the sensor and the wires in the model, I can just use our printers to print electronics onto the model so they are already embedded," said James Zunino, co-chair of the Materials Engineer and Printed Electronics, Energetic, Materials & Sensors at Picatinny.
> "With printed electronics versus conventional you're not chemically etching away all the material, you're printing them the way you want them. It's more environmentally friendly, it's more cost effective, and it's more time efficient."
> The electronics could also be outfitted with reactive sensors, such as sensors that change properties in the presence of anthrax to detect and warn of the chemical's presence.


Entire article at: http://www.3ders.org/articles/201401...p-solders.html

----------

