Phillips Federal adds WarpSPEE3D to Rock Island Arsenal to expand AM capability
January 26, 2022
SPEE3D, Melbourne, Australia, reports that its WarpSPEE3D cold spray Additive Manufacturing machine will be installed at Phillips Federal’s Center of Innovation, co-located at the US Army’s Rock Island Arsenal (RIA)’s Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence. Phillips Federal, a division of Phillips Corporation, Hannover, Maryland, USA, and the US Army will use the WarpSPEE3D machine to support activities in material exploration and research, and the development and manufacture of future large-format applications and prototypes for the military.
Phillips Corporation is a service provider and manufacturing partner to the United States Federal Government and first adopted SPEE3D’s metal AM technologies in 2020 when it added the LightSPEE3D machine to support its Public Private Partnership (P3) and AM programmes conducted at the RIA.
“Since 2020, the unique high-speed capabilities of SPEE3D technology have proven to be an excellent addition in supporting the RIA’s manufacturing innovation objectives, and the scope of our P3 Program,” stated John Harrison, Global Director of Phillips Additive. “Since 2020, the unique high-speed capabilities of SPEE3D technology have proven to be an excellent addition in supporting the RIA’s manufacturing innovation objectives, and the scope of our P3 Program. The new WarpSPEE3D printer at the RIA’s Center of Excellence for Advanced Manufacturing facility will allow us to further our scope and make cutting-edge achievements in developing large-format applications for expeditionary forces in the US.”
Since 2020, the WarpSPEE3D machine has been used often by defence forces for an on-demand, deployable metal Additive Manufacturing capability. In 2020 and 2021, the Australian Army conducted several successful field trials with their WarpSPEE3D tactical AM machine proving it is possible to additively manufacture, certify, validate, and replace armoured vehicle parts in the field.
Bruce Colter, SPEE3D’s vice president & General Manager of North America, commented, “We expect the delivery of this new WarpSPEE3D printer to provide Phillips Federal & the Rock Island Arsenal with additional capabilities from our patented cold spray AM technology, the fastest metal 3D printing capability in the world. WarpSPEE3D printers have demonstrated in field trials that they can make high-quality metal parts on-demand which are critical to keep military equipment & vehicles operational. The American AM space is growing rapidly, and SPEE3D’s technology is only growing with it.”
Byron Kennedy, CEO of SPEE3D, added, “We believe this expansion is an exciting opportunity for SPEE3D and the [US Department of Defense] forces. Our smaller LightSPEE3D system has been used as part of the RIA programme with great success. With a WarpSPEE3D, Phillips Federal & the Rock Island Arsenal will be able to explore a wider range of large, high-quality, low-cost metal parts manufactured quickly.”
