Australian soldiers will deploy the WarpSPEE3D metal printer for the second time during a year-long trial between the Australian Army and Darwin based tech company, SPEE3D. Soldiers from the 1st Combat Service Support Battalion (1CSSB) will use the 4,500kg 3D metal printing capability to print genuine military repair parts, using the patented cold spray technology developed by SPEE3D. In addition to the printer, 1 CSSB will deploy their improved machine shop facility for the first time, enabling post print machining and heat treatment in the field. The printer is capable of printing large metal parts up to 40kg, at a record-breaking speed of 100 grams per minute.
1 CSSB Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Colonel Kane Wright values the benefits of custom made solutions in the tactical environment. “Custom-made parts, designed and printed in the field means we can get our equipment back in action and return to our primary role on the battlefield,” Wright said. “We can strengthen the supply chain by employing modern technology like this to make exactly what we need at short notice.”
From 17 to 28 August, the engineering soldiers will test their new skills learnt during an intensive design program in collaboration with Charles Darwin University and SPEE3D, which began in February this year. “Our tech savvy soldiers now have the skills, and the technology from SPEE3D, to lessen the administration and logistics burden – to be their own solution without reaching back to base or a traditional commercial manufacturer,” Wright said.
SPEE3D CEO Byron Kennedy said the second field deployment proves the technology is a genuine solution for expeditionary metal 3D printing. “This two-week trial demonstrates the WarpSPEE3D is a robust workhorse that is capable of printing real parts and solving real problems in the field,” Kennedy said. “It also proves that soldiers can take control of the whole workflow of creating the spare parts they need, from design to printing and post-processing, right there where they need them.”
The printer arrived in Darwin in early June and forms the backbone of the Army’s developing 3D printing capability. Having received a number of upgrades and modifications in the two months since its first deployment, the WarpSPEE3D print cell deployed, as part of 1 CSSB’s larger Brigade Support Group, to various field locations in temperatures up to 37 degrees Celsius and 80% humidity, whilst printing and machining genuine military metal parts.
SPEE3D printers make metal parts the fastest way possible, leveraging metal cold spray technology to produce industrial quality metal parts in just minutes, rather than days or weeks. This process harnesses the power of kinetic energy, rather than relying on high-power lasers and expensive gasses, allowing 3D metal printing in the field, at affordable costs.
The Australian Army announced a A$1.5 million investment in a pilot of SPEE3D technology in February 2020 with a 12-month trial designed to test the feasibility of deploying 3D metal printers both on base and in the field. SPEE3D partnered with the Advanced Manufacturing Alliance (AMA) and Charles Darwin University (CDU) to deliver the program with soldiers from the Australian Army’s 1st Brigade training in 3D printing at CDU since February.
For Editorial Inquiries Contact:
Editor Kym Bergmann at kym.bergmann@venturamedia.net
For Advertising Inquiries Contact:
Director of Sales Graham Joss at graham.joss@venturamedia.net
