ROCK ISLAND ARSENAL, Ill. — The Rock Island Arsenal unveiled plans for a big addition to one of its factories that will make the production of military equipment more convenient.
It's called the Jointless Hull Large Format Tool, and it's a 3D metal printer that will be able to make metal parts up to 30 feet wide, 20 feet in length and 12 feet in height. It will be the largest 3D metal printer in the world once it's up and running.
The machine is planned to be fully operational by the spring of 2023 and will be part of the Rock Island Arsenal's Joint Manufacturing and Technology Center.
United States Army Commanding General Darren Werner described how this tool will take manufacturing to the next level.
"It's creating an opportunity for us to build things that we've never been able to build before," he said.
The goal of the new machinery is to better protect soldiers in combat.
Sen. Dick Durbin gave remarks at the unveiling and emphasized that the new machine will help the future of our military.
"We are riding the wave of the future," Sen. Durbin said. "It's no longer the past which we're focused on, and I believe that this is just the beginning, that we're going to see more and more commitments here."
The RIA-JMTC is designed as a center of Industrial and Technical Excellence for mobile maintenance systems.
Watch more news, weather and sports on News 8's YouTube channel