Southwest Regional Maintenance Center showcased its mobile Fabrication Lab (Fab Lab) at the 2016 Department of Defense Maintenance Symposium held at the Albuquerque Convention Center located in Albuquerque, N.M Dec. 2-4. Fab Lab is a mobile fabrication laboratory equipped with technology that demonstrates the emerging capabilities of additive manufacturing. "It was an excellent event all the way around," said Capt. Kyle P. Higgins, Director Fleet Readiness, OPNAV N83. "The entire SWRMC Team did a great job demonstrating the Mobile Fab Lab's current capability to deliver advance fabrication training to our sailors and fleet maintainers, while building a deck plate understanding of modeling and simulation tools to support additive and digital manufacturing processes of tomorrow." "We were able to introduce, familiarize, and train on additive manufacturing to all DoD personnel who we had contact with there," said Senior Chief Russell Hoover, a member of SWRMC Machine Product Family and event participant. "Several of the visitors were interested in why and how we were training." "There are five goals for the fleet regarding this technology," said Hoover. "We are focusing on the fifth goal, familiarization training to the fleet." When the Fab Lab is at its home on Naval Base San Diego, warfighters are able to work in the Fab Lab to learn molding and casting, fabrication with composite materials, and 3D scanning and printing in support of additive manufacturing and rapid prototyping. "The intent is to breakdown the barrier on what is possible," said Hoover. "Sailors can come learn about the technology and when they have a problem in the fleet, they can develop a solution using the tools and technology we teach them in the Fab Lab." SWRMC's mission is to provide superior ship maintenance, modernization, technical support, and training to the Pacific fleet. For more information about SWRMC please visit http://www.swrmc.navy.mil/.

For more information, visit www.navy.mil, www.facebook.com/usnavy, or www.twitter.com/usnavy.

For more news from Southwest Regional Maintenance Center, visit www.navy.mil/.