SPEE3D, an Australian metal additive manufacturing company, has successfully completed Trident Warrior – the experimental portion of the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise – at the Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. SPEE3D deployed its Expeditionary Manufacturing Unit (EMU), a complete on-site mobile AM solution, to print 11 cast-like metal parts in aluminum and stainless steel to be evaluated for their material properties and suitability for repairing and replacing defense equipment in a contested environment.
RIMPAC is the world’s largest international maritime exercise, and Trident Warrior focuses on testing cutting-edge technologies, including AM. A team of engineers from the Consortium for Advanced Manufacturing Research and Education (CAMRE) printed cast-like replacement metal parts from EMU for the Army, Navy and Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard. The goal of implementing SPEE3D’s proprietary Cold Spray AM (CSAM) solution was to prove that AM can help secure military supply chains by reducing delivery time of critical parts from days to hours and to the point of need.
“SPEE3D is excited to participate in RIMPAC, the largest demonstration of distributed advanced manufacturing ever conducted by the Department of Defense,” said Byron Kennedy, CEO of SPEE3D. “Additive manufacturing in particular has been a key area of interest for the Department of Defense (DoD), and together we share the same goals of training the military and implementing additive manufacturing to print critical metal parts at the right time to support soldier modernization and readiness.”
“CAMRE facilitates the introduction of the latest advanced manufacturing processes into operational environments and finds ways to unlock additional capabilities. SPEE3D worked alongside our joint participants to further explore cold spray additive manufacturing and helped us find best practices for applying its unique capabilities in expeditionary environments,” said Lt. Col. Michael Radigan, Marine Innovation Unit member and government lead of the CAMRE team for Trident Warrior 24.
EMU combines SPEE3D’s XSPEE3D metal 3D printer with its SPEE3Dcell post-processing and inspection unit, which together can produce cast-like metal parts in hours. The system includes two 20-foot containers with twist-locks, a robust, mobile metal 3D printer capable of producing high-density metal parts from a variety of materials, and a fully equipped post-processing workshop – including a heat treatment furnace, CNC three-axis mill, tooling and inspection equipment. EMU can be transported on a single platform (truck trailer/ship/aircraft).
RIMPAC and Trident Warrior involved approximately 29 nations, 40 surface ships, three submarines, 14 national land forces, over 150 aircraft, and more than 25,000 personnel who trained and deployed in and around the Hawaiian Islands during the exercise. The events provided a unique training opportunity while fostering and maintaining cooperative relationships among participants.
