Meet RAMBO, the US Army’s first 3D printed grenade launcher.
Built by researchers at the Army Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center (ARDEC), this 3D printed version of the M203 is the result of a six month long collaborative project between the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command (RDECOM), the U.S. Army Manufacturing Technology (ManTech) Program and America Makes.
RAMBO is an acronym for Rapid Additively Manufactured Ballistics Ordnance, which is clearly a total coincidence that it happens to spell out the surname of one of the most famous fictional veterans off all time.
According to ARDEC, RAMBO “epitomizes a new era of rapidly developed, testable prototypes that will accelerate the rate at which researchers’ advancements are incorporated into fieldable weapons that further enable our warfighters.”
Every component of the M203A1 was made by a 3D printer, with the exception of springs and fasteners. But what about the barrel and reciever? We’re glad you asked. Those componentes were made using a direct metal laser sintering (DMLS) process that uses a high-powered laser to weld metal powder into layers forming a distinct metal shape. In layman’s terms it’s a metal 3D printer.
The trigger and firing pin were prited from 4340 alloy steel.
They even printed some plastic dummy rounds to test fire the weapon. According to ARDEC the tests were a success. On their website ARDEC reported “15 test shots did not produce any signs of degradation, and the rounds’ muzzle velocities were within 5% of the velocities achieved by standard launchers.”
The purpose of the RAMBO project was to determine if America Makes 3D printing technology could be utilized by the military to produce armament systems. The M230A1 was chosen to see if the technology could work at all. ARDEC had no intention of using this technology to make a cheaper, lighter, or more effective M230. Instead, they proved that 3D printing technology is mature enough to help researchers create weapon prototypes more rapidly than current manufacturing techniques allow.
In their concluding statement ARDEC wrote “Although there are still many challenges to be addressed before Armywide adoption of AM, demonstrations like this one show the technology’s advances. Successfully firing an AM-produced weapon system validates AM maturation and applicability in armament production. By using AM, researchers and developers will be able to build and test their prototypes in a matter of days rather than months. Designs and parts previously unachievable can now be realized.”