SPEE3D
Aus Army SPEE3D
The Australian Army is to trial SPEE3D’s metal 3D printing technology over the next 12 months in partnership with Charles Darwin University (CDU).
A $1.5 million project was announced by Hon Melissa Price MP, the Minister for Defence Industry, and follows a similar trial being carried out by CDU and the Royal Australian Navy launched in November. Both developments have come about as Australia bids to modernise and enhance the resilience of its defence supply chains.
Twenty soldiers based at CDU, mostly drawn from 1st Combat Service Support Battalion, will undergo advanced training to learn how to design and print components using the WarpSPEE3D platform. Initial training will be delivered by experienced researchers at CDU’s Casuarina Campus over a ten-week period and will encompass the fundamentals of designing, modelling and printing parts, as well as testing and evaluation.
The Australian Army expects application of 3D printing technology to remove the need for soldiers to carry with them holdings of repair parts on missions, which will improve their mobility, and reduce the time it takes for spare parts to be deployed. They will begin by trialling non-safety critical repair parts, while working with industry experts to apply the technology to its full capacity.
“This partnership with CDU and SPEE3D shows that we as an army are looking to the future and embracing advanced technologies to speed up our processes,” commented Lieutenant Colonel Wright. “At maturity, we see it becoming an essential enabler that will redefine how logistics is employed to support our dependencies on the future battlefield.”
“3D printing technology has the potential to change the way many industries, including defence, design, manufacture and supply parts,” added CDU Vice-Chancellor, Professor Simon Maddocks. “CDU has become a centre of excellence in exploring and applying this new technology and we’re pleased to have such eager professional soldiers join us to learn this new skill set.”
SPEE3D’s technology is based on a cold spray process which binds metal powder particles together by firing powder at high speed onto a concentrated area. This, combined with the 700 x 1000mm build volume of the WarpSPEE3D machine, allows large parts, or multiple parts, to be additively manufactured in quick time. The platform supports copper and aluminium materials and is the same machine harnessed by the Australian Navy in November.
“This programme with the Australian Army, in parallel with a similar project with the Royal Australian Navy, will enable the Australian Defence Force to grow our sovereign capability and lead the world in the field of additive manufacturing,” offered SPEE3D CEO Byron Kennedy.
