US Navy expands its metal 3D printing capabilities

The Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Division in Florida has acquired a new metal 3D printer for its Additive Manufacturing Laboratory. The addition of a EOS M290 3D printer will allow NSWC PCD to quickly produce parts and prototypes to ensure warfighting dominance. There are many advantages to having access to a metal 3D printer, said Chuck Self, NSWC PCD AML head. Major advantages include reduction in time to complete prints, reproducibility, and the complexity of parts available for print. The NSWC PCD is located in a US Naval military base near Panama City, Florida. It conducts research on naval warfare and its disciplines include optics, acoustics, mine warfare and robotics. The U.S. Navy is heavily invested in 3D printing. In 2018 alone, the U.S. Office of Naval Research allocated $2.6 million for the introduction of metal additive manufactured parts; Lockheed Martin entered a $5.8 million contract with the force; and, by the end of the year Naval Air Systems Command estimated its fleet relied on the use of 1,000 3D printed parts.