Austal USA buys AM machine from SPEE3D

Cold spray additive manufacturing company SPEE3D has shared that shipbuilder Austal USA has purchased a WarpSPEE3D AM unit for application development purposes.

In a statement on Wednesday (Melbourne time), SPEE3D said Austal USA’s Advanced Technologies division is “a leader in cutting-edge technology implementation for defense and maritime applications” and heads a team of industry partners in overseeing and operating the US Navy's Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence in Danville, Virginia.

Austal USA is the US subsidiary of ASX-listed, Perth-headquartered shipbuilder Austal.

“The very high deposition rates of Cold Spray AM make it an exciting technology for large part creation, and process advancements utilizing the SPEE3D system could provide additional capability for manufacturing traditionally cast parts,” said Scott Kasen, Austal USA AT Director of Advanced Technologies, in a statement.

Byron Kennedy, CEO and co-founder of SPEE3D added: “We have worked successfully with the U.S. Navy in the past and understand the unique challenges they face with the need for manufacturing capabilities that are fast, reliable, and easily deployable, and our partnership with Austal USA furthers this commitment to meet the ever-changing manufacturing needs of maritime.”

SPEE3D was established a decade ago and specialises in robot-controlled supersonic deposition-based AM, which can be used to create cast-equivalent parts out of metal powders at a rate of 100 grams per minute.

Kennedy’s company has increasingly found favour among both defence industry and US-based customers, and opened its first US-based manufacturing facility and applications centre in June.

In an interview this month on the @AuManufacturing Conversations podcast, co-founder Steve Camilleri shared that development of its upcoming TitanSPEE3D printer – able to build parts in dimensions up to 2.4 metre diameter, 1 metre tall, with a maximum of 4.3 metres by 4.3 metres floor area footprint – was being driven by US Department of Defense needs. 

Picture: supplied

Further reading

How the moon motivates additive manufacturer SPEE3D

SPEE3D demonstrates additive manufacturing to US military

SPEE3D opens US 3D print applications centre

SPEE3D prints 11 metal parts in major defence exercise

The Australian AM business operating in a category of one

SPEE3D breaks into US Navy submarine field