US Navy Vs 3D Printing Submarine Parts

Here at 3D Rapid Print, one of the fastest growing 3D Printing companies in the Thames Valley, we like to keep abreast of the latest innovations in 3D printing.

On February 4th 2022, Defense News spoke of the US Navy announcing plans to pair suppliers that can’t keep up with demand for spare submarine parts with 3D printing companies that can make them around the clock. PEO Strategic Submarines Executive Director Matthew Sermon proclaimed that this would help suppliers, some of which are the sole sources of spare parts to the Navy, by removing pressure to increase production rates to keep up with the necessary workload. (PEO is short for Program Executive Office.) The PEO has a ranked list of 6 to 10 parts they intend to 3D print, based on a list of parts they deem consistently unavailable when needed.

In addition to building 2 Virginia-class attack submarines a year and helping maintain in-service submarines, the industrial base is also making the first Columbia-class submarine. The Navy intends to buy its next Columbia-class submarine in 2024 and start producing 1 a year in 2026, in addition to the Virginia-class ones that it already builds. Currently, the Navy certifies submarine parts individually, which Sermon argued wouldn’t work in the longer term and that the Navy should qualify the materials and 3D printing processes used instead, which would enable the Navy to design the next-generation submarine with 3D printing in mind. The Navy intends to install the first 3D printed parts on an in-service submarine by the end of 2022.

Another example of the US Navy availing itself of 3D printing involves the United States Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) of Washington, D.C. In February 2021, it spoke of how it was creating and testing 3D printed antennas, where NRL electrical engineer Anna Stumme and colleagues were investigating 3D printing’s potential use in applications constrained by weight and size, such as unmanned aerial vehicles and small ships.

3D printing is an amazing tool. It can grow your small business or start a mini revolution in an industry. Explore what it can do for you when you contact us today.

Disclaimer: Featured image of “US Navy 040730-N-1234E-002 PCU Virginia (SSN 774) returns to the General Dynamics Electric Boat shipyard” is a work of a sailor or employee of the US Navy, taken or made as part of that person’s official duties. As a work of the US federal government, it is in the public domain in the United States.