SPEE3D successfully trials Additive Manufacturing in US Army demonstration
September 19, 2024
SPEE3D, headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, has announced its successful participation in the US Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) Army Research Laboratory (ARL) advanced manufacturing demonstration at the University of Tennessee Knoxville. VRC Metal Systems, Box Elder, South Dakota, was also involved in the Additive Manufacturing demonstration.
The goal of the exercise was to train a soldier with no previous Additive Manufacturing or experience to produce a crucial part that can be used to build or repair equipment on location.
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During the trial – which ran from August 5-16 – the soldier additively manufactured a Bradley Fighting Vehicle’s transmission mount. The part was then installed and the vehicle taken out on multiple test cycles through the 278th field test area. Upon return, the part was examined and showed no degradation. SPEE3D stated that the success of this exercise proved that its Cold Spray Additive Manufacturing technology can successfully create a repair part and restore the vehicle to operational capability returning it to action.
“SPEE3D intends to make Additive Manufacturing accessible as a quick, cost-effective, and easy way to print crucial metal parts that otherwise would not be available at the point of need. Having a soldier with no previous Additive Manufacturing experience learn our technology within a week certainly meets that goal,” said Byron Kennedy, CEO of SPEE3D. “We are proud to have collaborated with Army Research Labs, the University of Knoxville, the 278th Armoured Cavalry Regiment, and all of our other partners to participate in this successful demonstration.”
“This demonstration successfully illustrated how cold spray technology can be utilised to positively impact the warfighter in expeditionary scenarios,” said Michael Nicholas, Materials Engineer at DEVCOM ARL. “Expeditionary cold systems provide added repair and manufacturing capabilities which can address supply chain challenges as would be expected in a contested logistics environment. Overall, this advanced manufacturing demonstration was extremely successful due to our amazing partnerships with industry, academia and future technology users.”
The exercise was organized by DEVCOM ARL as the government lead, the University of Tennessee Knoxville as the demo host, the 278th Armoured Cavalry Regiment (ACR) as the site host with soldiers, technical expert SPEE3D, and VRC Metal Systems. The final demonstration of the additively manufactured part was held on August 15 at the ACR Armory in Livingston, Tennessee.
