Laser scanning keeps older military equipment running by enabling the creation of spare parts that perfectly duplicate the originals at a reasonable cost. MILPARTS and other companies are taking advantage of new technologies, particularly the ModelMaker laser scanning system, which make it possible to rapidly reverse-engineer existing components and produce duplicates in less time and at a lower cost than was possible in the past.

It’s no secret that much of the United States’ military hardware is or soon will be in use long past its predicted lifespan. The aging of the nation’s military hardware is creating a tremendous need for spare parts, even though many of the companies that built the equipment have long since left the business, and the original drawings and documentation no longer exist. A new breed of entrepreneurial companies has moved into this space, offering the capability to quickly reverse-engineer needed parts and economically produce them, usually on the latest computerized numerical control (CNC) machinery.

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