SIMBA Chain to Study Feasibility of 3D Printing for Air Force

SIMBA Chain, a blockchain technology company, will help advance 3D printing capabilities for the Air Force as part of the Small Business Innovation Research program.

The SBIR Phase 1 grant awarded by the Air Force Rapid Sustainment Office will ultimately support the manufacturing of spare parts at military bases, SIMBA Chain said Wednesday.

In partnership with manufacturing company Steel Modular, SIMBA Chain plans to provide the Air Force a self-contained, mobile 3D manufacturing facility.

Each facility would fit in a disposable shipping container housing tools for metal and fiber additive 3D manufacturing, final machining, inspection of finished products and communication.

The 90-day SBIR Phase 1 deal will be focused on determining the feasibility of deploying such facilities in battlefields and other harsh environments.

Joel Neidig, CEO of SIMBA Chain, said the effort’s goal is to use additive manufacturing technology to shorten the parts manufacturing lead time.

According to Air Force Battle Damage Assessment and Repair, parts availability is a critical problem faced by forward-deployed forces in the heat of battle.

Neidig added that Simba Chain’s blockchain technology will shine in protecting the manufacturing facilities from sophisticated hackers tampering with intellectual property and communications.

The Air Force has dabbled with additive printing before through the Advanced Manufacturing Olympics, a challenge for industry to develop a supply chain strategy to increase the service’s use of 3D printing.

SIMBA Chain won the “Supply Chain Marathon” segment of the Advanced Manufacturing Olympics, according to Breaking Defense.

The company’s founders have expressed eagerness in the concept of building an on-orbit supply chain for 3D-printed spacecraft parts.