In April, the Army signed a contract for its “Jointless Hull Project,” which has an ambitious goal of developing a 3D metal printer so large that it can create a military truck exterior in one giant piece.
“The mission is to develop a large-scale tool capable of producing single, jointless combat vehicle hulls at a near net size of 30-foot-by-20-foot-by-12 foot in size,” Larry “LJ” Holmes, principal investigator at ASTRO America, the nonprofit that is working with the Army to develop the massive 3D printer, said in a statement.