Accelerated procurement in the defense sector: this company is breaking new ground

Technical article by Ole Marx, Regional Sales Director, Xometry Europe

Hardly any sector is under as much time pressure as the military and security field. Europe’s defense companies are operating at full capacity and can barely handle the many new orders. One reason for this is the shortage of skilled workers, which in fact calls for new structures throughout the entire production process. The British company AADS is meeting these challenges by using 3D printing and combining it with an innovative procurement strategy.

The company specializes in converting production vehicles. Among other things, AADS modifies the Jeep Wrangler J8 – into troop carriers, ambulances, patrol vehicles or command vehicles for the military and police. The vehicles are custom-built and developed for very specific needs. There are numerous modification and add-on parts in small or medium series for which traditional production methods such as injection molding are usually not economical. At the same time, the developers are under pressure to design new products quickly.

When the Italian Ministry of Defense commissioned AADS to convert the production vehicle into rugged patrol vehicles, the developers had hardly any free capacity left. And the matter was urgent: only twelve months were allowed from order to delivery. An order for military ambulances ran into similar difficulties: all designs and constructions had to be created from scratch, including the body extension, the fiberglass roof and the interior of the ambulance.

With conventional procurement channels, the orders would have been impossible. Tenders, contract awards, waiting times: these processes alone would have taken months, and that already at the prototype stage. Instead, the British manufacturer used the latest 3D printing technologies, both in the development and in the production of components. To accelerate procurement, the manufacturer relied on Xometry Europe’s industrial printing capacity.

This manufacturing platform distributes orders within seconds to producers from a vast supplier network. In Europe alone, 2,000 certified manufacturers are available. Even during the development of the parts, engineers on the platform benefit from AI-powered instant quotes. On their screens they can see virtually in real time how changes to the component, the material or the quantity affect costs. This allows developers to implement iterations much faster and shortens the path to a finished prototype.

The platform also gave the British engineers access to a wide range of manufacturing options. In addition to 3D printing, metalworking was particularly important in the case of the ambulances. Large quantities of steel had to be welded – no problem for Xometry’s supplier network. It was able to efficiently supply all the components required for the conversions.

Mark Jensen, Head of Engineering and Production at AADS, on the process: “We no longer had to worry about the supply chain and could focus entirely on our core tasks. Since we knew that the platform had all the necessary manufacturing and production contacts, we didn’t have to look for suppliers ourselves – that was crucial.”

In production, AADS initially used Xometry’s capacity for 3D printing. FDM was used to manufacture prototypes of the UltraLight Infill Jeep Roof. Later, complex parts in small quantities followed, including printed vibration-isolating inserts for weapon mounts. These are important functional production parts that are installed directly in the vehicle interior. Xometry also arranged the printing of seals for an aluminum hardtop. Complex geometries were required here to achieve effective sealing around the door frame. The application became a showcase for the use of MJF 3D printing technologies: in aluminum and in small quantities, these parts would not have been feasible.

By taking these new approaches, AADS achieved a demanding design without major investments in injection molding tools. For the militarized J8 ambulance fleet, Xometry also supplied key steel components, such as the 550 mm extension of the vehicle body. This extension made the ambulance conversion possible in the first place.

The British manufacturer benefited from a huge supplier base in the process. Xometry gives its customers access to 2,000 manufacturing companies across Europe. There is almost always available capacity, even for special requirements. Ultimately, the British defense manufacturer was able to optimize and accelerate its procurement. Using the manufacturing platform reduced the effort involved in working with numerous individual suppliers.

Production Manager Mark Jensen: “For us, it proved invaluable that Xometry could offer a comprehensive solution. It ranged from manufacturing the steel frame to providing access to a network of qualified suppliers and handling logistics.”

In the future, AADS plans to significantly expand its offering. With the help of the new procurement approach via Xometry, the portfolio of conversions is to be extended to additional vehicles.