The US Navy has installed the first Phillips Additive Hybrid metal 3D printing system on board the USS Bataan amphibious assault ship. The machine was created in cooperation with Meltio and Haas. The system combines laser metal melting technology developed by Meltio with CNC vertical machining centers by Haas. The two companies have previously collaborated on other hybrid system projects, and their solution enables both additive (3D printing) and subtractive (machining) manufacturing.
The Phillips Additive Hybrid system features a wire metal laser melting head and is mounted on a Haas TM-1 CNC milling machine that has proven its reliability in the marine environment of many aircraft carriers. By deploying the first 3D metal printer on board a ship, the U.S. Navy has increased the self-sufficiency of ships and their crews as well as shortened delivery times for spare parts through the use of additive manufacturing. Engineers are able to use additive manufacturing to integrate multiple materials to produce desired parts.
The Phillips Additive Hybrid system prints from 316L stainless steel, which is commonly used in US Navy ship systems. While the fabrication of stainless steel additives aboard warships is new, it represents a significant step forward in offering seafarers industrial-level manufacturing capabilities, enabling 3D printing of individual components for systems that were previously unavailable without purchasing the entire system at much higher cost.
The benefits of having a 3D printer onboard a ship are two-fold – they increase operational availability while reducing demand for conventional and naval-specific supply chains. In addition, NAVSEA engineers deployed a second 3D printer on board the Bataan to create polymer (plastic) parts. This 3D printer allows the ship’s crew to print any of over 300 objects created by NAVSEA that describe the necessary design configuration and processes to produce the component, guaranteeing its proper functioning.
Source: www.navsea.navy.mil
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Article photo: www.navsea.navy.mil
