SPEE3D begins European tour showcasing mobile metal AM for defence
SPEE3D, headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, has begun a European tour of its Expeditionary Manufacturing Unit (EMU), a containerised cold spray metal Additive Manufacturing and post-processing system that produces mission-critical military parts in hours rather than weeks. Over the coming months, SPEE3D is collaborating with local partners across several European cities to host live manufacturing demonstrations featuring the EMU.
These events will also include workshops on how advanced manufacturing supports critical metal part supply chains and maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) operations. Attendees will witness the XSPEE3D manufacture parts for land and naval platforms in corrosion-resistant materials such as Aluminium 6061, which are then post-processed, machined, and tested with the SPEE3Dcell.
“Typically, people see our technology only if they visit our factory, attend a tradeshow, or if they’re a defence force taking it out in the field,” stated Byron Kennedy, CEO of SPEE3D. “This time, we are collaborating with local industry leaders to bring the technology directly to European forces, OEMs, and defence research organisations, allowing them to evaluate firsthand the Expeditionary Manufacturing Unit’s ability to rapidly produce mission-critical parts.”
The EMU has proven its value in field conditions, having been successfully deployed by the US and UK militaries during AM Village and RIMPAC field trials. SPEE3D technology is also actively used by defence forces worldwide, including the Japanese Ground Self Defence Force and Ukrainian Armed Forces.
The EMU consists of two 6 m containers providing an end-to-end manufacturing solution easily transported by civilian trucks. It includes the XSPEE3D metal AM machine, capable of producing parts up to 0.9 m x 0.7 m in diameter and 40 kg in weight, and the SPEE3Dcell post-processing facility offering heat treatment, machining, tooling, and testing capabilities.
The tour begins in Bourges, France, hosted by Vistory, a digital manufacturing provider helping defence and aerospace customers achieve secure, traceable production with its MainChain system. Together, SPEE3D and Vistory are showcasing the EMU’s rapid manufacturing capabilities integrated with Vistory’s secure MainChain platform for full part traceability in the field.
“The integration of our MainChain software platform with SPEE3D’s EMU capability creates an unprecedented solution for secure, traceable manufacturing,” said Alexandre Pédemonte, CEO and Co-Founder of Vistory. “Together, we demonstrate how a sovereign digital production ecosystem ensures complete control and transparency throughout the manufacturing process.”
Additional stops include Lasertech in Sweden, Perron038 in the Netherlands, and 3D Phoenix in Poland. At each event, attendees can explore real-world applications and engage with SPEE3D engineers and local industry experts.
