SPEE3D chosen for US Navy’s Additive Manufacturing MaintenX exercise
May 23, 2022
SPEE3D, Melbourne, Australia, has announced that it has been selected by the US Navy to take part in its Maintenance Technology Engagement Exercise (MaintenX) exercise to manufacture deployable metal Additive Manufacturing technology at both port and sea. The US Navy’s goal is to validate metal Additive Manufacturing in order to reduce and eliminate supply chain issues, and address maintenance operations to improve ship material conditions and battle damage repair.
“We are thrilled to collaborate with the US Naval Warfare Centers to test and validate our unique metal 3D printing capability that is used from anywhere – not just a lab – and to quickly print large scale parts that would otherwise take weeks or even months to manufacture,” stated Byron Kennedy, CEO of SPEE3D. “We understand their operational challenges both on land and sea, and look forward to strengthening our existing relationships with the US Department of Defense as a trusted partner.”
MaintenX, sponsored by NAVSEA 05T, aims to accelerate the identification and implementation of leading-edge capabilities by the US Navy and its partners in port and maritime security. The programme consists of technical demonstrations, field experiments, and exercises to help solve fleet expeditionary maintenance and battle-related support requirements. MaintenX aims to give technologists an understanding of operational challenges faced by soldiers – and soldiers an understanding of developing technologies to meet their needs. Solutions will be demonstrated in a one-on-one setting onboard the Navy’s Self Defense Test Ship (SDTS), currently based at Port Hueneme, California.
For the MaintenX programme, SPEE3D will utilise its WarpSPEE3D machine, which can additively manufacture large parts or multiple parts at once – up to 100 x 700 mm and 40 kg. The trial will be conducted as part of the US Navy’s ANTX-Coastal Trident 2022 at the Ventura County Naval Base between August 22–September 2, 2022.
SPEE3D has previously collaborated with the US defence sector as the inaugural winner of the Defense Strategies Institute’s Award for Expeditionary and Tactical 3D Printing Excellence. Earlier this year, Phillips Federal’s Center of Innovation upgraded to a WarpSPEE3D to further develop the facility’s Additive Manufacturing capability and develop large format, parts-on-demand metal applications for the US Army.
