HP has entered into a collaboration with the United States Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) Technology Office to support the ‘revitalisation’ of the Submarine Industrial Base.
The NAVSEA Technology Office will harness HP’s Metal Jet binder jetting technology in its bid to ‘pioneer advanced manufacturing solutions.’
Working with its binder jetting partners, HP will explore ‘new frontiers’ in metal additive manufacturing, according to HP President of 3D Printing Savi Baveja. The collaboration, he says, will also allow for the use of new materials and designs for ship construction, which should help to ‘shorten production timelines from months to mere days.’
As NAVSEA Technology Office commences work with HP, there is a hope they can pool resources and expertise to better support the Armed Forces in ‘shaping the future of defence manufacturing.’
Dr. Kevin Genson, Additive Manufacturing Engineering Manager at the NAVSEA Technology Office, commented: “The United States Naval Sea Systems Command Technology Office is collaborating with binder jetting partners such as HP to explore the viability of using this novel process to rapidly manufacture high-quality metal parts in support of the revitalisation of the Submarine Industrial Base.
“HP’s Metal Jet technology has demonstrated potential towards the use of metal AM in materials such as stainless steels and superalloys for new ship construction as well as fleet sustainment. Using binder jetting could potentially allow for critical parts with lead times of months to be fabricated and delivered in days, with material properties that meet of exceed the legacy requirements.”
NAVSEA has been working with additive manufacturing for a few years, selecting SPEE3D’s cold spray additive manufacturing technology to develop subsafe manufacturing materials in May 2023, and reporting the successful implementation of Markforged’s X7 Field Edition 3D printer to repair parts on one of its attack submarines two months earlier.