UK Defense Firm BAE Systems Wants to “Grow” Drones in Vats with Chemical 3D Printing.

As UK defense and aerospace company BAE Systems prepares themselves for the upcoming Farnborough International Airshow, some of their scientists and engineers were asked to outline their current ides for the future of designing and manufacturing military aircraft. They envision the 3D printers of the future to be a lot more efficient, and a lot different than what we have available to us today. The BAE scientists believe that within this century they will be capable of growing Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAVs) using advanced chemistry and large chemical baths. The process would be capable of creating functional, near fully assembled drones for specific military operations within a matter of weeks. The ideas and concepts or these lab-grown aircraft were developed as part of their collaborative approach to sharing technology and scientific ideas with other established companies, new tech startups and researchers in academia. The process would require a cutting-edge chemical 3D printer and computer called a “Chemputer” that would grow the customized aircraft and some of their electronic systems at the molecular level. The drones would take shape by introducing raw materials into the chemical baths and apply centrifugal force. This would encourage the aircraft to form into their final shapes, and the process could even be used for larger aircraft components that could later be assembled. “This is a very exciting time in the development of chemistry. We have been developing routes to digitize synthetic and materials chemistry and at some point in the future hope to assemble complex objects in a machine from the bottom up, or with minimal human assistance. Creating small aircraft would be very challenging but I’m confident that creative thinking and convergent digital technologies will eventually lead to the digital programming of complex chemical and material systems,” explained Regius Professor at the University of Glasgow Lee Cronin, who is also the Founding Scientific Director at Cronin Group PLC, the company that is helping to develop the Chemputer. While BAE Systems and their corporate partners seem to be focused on the potential military and aerospace applications, the same process could also revolutionize civilian industry and technology. Similar chemical 3D printers could be used to manufacture anything from cars and other vehicles, personal electronics and even furnishings. Welcome to a world of possibilities!!! 3D PRINTING WORLD Contributed by 3dprint.com