SPEE3D, a manufacturer of metal 3D printers, has successfully printed parts on a U.S. Navy ship using its WarpSPEE3D metal 3D printer. Their additive manufacturing technology was selected as part of NAVSEA’s REPTX exercise, which is being conducted as part of ANTX-Coastal Trident 2022 at Naval Base Ventura County in Port Hueneme, California.
The test with the WarpSPEE3D printer successfully printed the part – a bronze anchor – five times while the ship was at sea. The parts were printed each time with the same result and in just six minutes. In addition, the team supported other companies in their trials and helped print a wide range of applications, including pressure fittings for pipes, protective housings for marine equipment and manufacturing mechanisms for robotic arms.
“Our goal during REPTX was to successfully test WarpSPEE3D’s deployable technology to print maritime military parts on demand and in various sea conditions. We’re thrilled the results are favourable and that SPEE3D is the world’s first to print parts on a ship,” said Steven Camilleri, Co-Founder and CTO of SPEE3D. “We understand the operational, economic, and supply chain issues the military faces and look forward to continuing to work with US Defense to help solve some of these challenges.”
REPTX was conducted as part of ANTX-Coastal Trident 2022, involving more than 60 participants from the Navy, academia and industry. The experiment consists of a series of technical demonstrations, field trials and exercises based on both discussions and operations.
The program aims to identify, validate and implement new technologies – including additive manufacturing – to reduce supply chain issues, perform maintenance more efficiently and shorten return-to-port time.
The patented technology is “1000 times faster than other metal 3D printers,” the company describes their product. Notably, SPEE3D technology harnesses the power of kinetic energy rather than relying on high-powered lasers and expensive gases, enabling printing at an affordable production cost. Parts can be printed in minutes from over 12 material sets, including copper, stainless steel, titanium, high-strength aluminum and nickel-based carbides.
Find out more about SPEE3D at spee3d.com.
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