Materials scientists and engineers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) are developing a manufacturing process that will enable the military to slash wait times for parts, increase unit readiness, reduce logistical operations and costs, and make deployed troops safer and more self-sustainable. The Army’s Expeditionary Lab is a mobile, self-contained manufacturing unit. The WPI research project will upgrade and expand the lab’s usefulness by making it easier and more efficient for military units to reuse scrap metals already on hand – such as broken brake rotors or tire rims – to make replacement parts for everything from vehicles to medical equipment.

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