By Defense Systems Staff Mar 03, 2021 The Defense Logistics Agency has ordered up a 3D printing factory housed in a shipping container. Now under development, the rugged 3D printing pod would be up to 40-feet long and be set up in a standard 40-foot container so it could be deployed directly to the field to manufacture parts in support of battlefield operations, disaster relief or other remote missions. With a $1.6 million contract to ExOne, DLA plans to use the company’s military-edition 3D printer for manufacturing products or tooling from over 20 metal, ceramic and other powder materials. ExOne’s binder jet 3D printing is an additive manufacturing (AM) process that transforms powdered materials transforms into precision parts by using an industrial printhead to selectively deposit alternating layers of a liquid binder and powder particles.