Laser scanning makes it easy to keep older military equipment running by enabling companies to create spare parts that perfectly duplicate the originals at a reasonable cost. Manufacturers of weapons systems are taking advantage of new technologies, particularly the ModelMaker laser scanning system, which makes 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 expected life, being in many cases older than the soldiers, airmen and seamen who operate it. The aging of the nation’s military hardware is creating a tremendous need for spare parts. The drawings and documentation of these parts no longer exist because many of the companies that used to build the equipment have left the business. Now, a new breed of entrepreneurial company 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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