Jan 31, 2019 | By Thomas
Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Newport News Shipbuilding division announced it has delivered the first 3D-printed metal part to the US Navy for installation on an aircraft carrier.
The part —a piping assembly— was presented to Rear Adm. Lorin Selby, Naval Sea Systems Command’s chief engineer and deputy commander for ship design, integration, and naval engineering during a brief ceremony on Monday at Naval Station Norfolk.
The part will be installed on the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) and evaluated for a one-year period.
“We are pleased to have worked so closely with our Navy partners to get to the point where the first 3-D metal part will be installed on an aircraft carrier,” said Charles Southall, Newport News’ vice president of engineering and design. “The advancement of additive manufacturing will help revolutionize naval engineering and shipbuilding. It also is a significant step forward in our digital transformation of shipbuilding processes to increase efficiency, safety and affordability. This is an accomplishment we all should be proud of.”
Since 2017 Huntington Ingalls Industries has partnered with 3D Systems to develop additive manufacturing technologies to accelerate the adoption of metal 3D printing in the naval shipbuilding industry.
As part of the joint development agreement, 3D Systems delivered and installed the ProX DMP 320 high-performance metal additive manufacturing system at Newport News. The 3D printer is capable of making marine-based, alloy parts for castings or other fabricated parts, such as valves, housings and brackets.
NAVSEA last year also approved the technical standards for 3D printing after collaboration with the company and industry partners that involved the printing of test parts and materials, extensive development of an engineered test program, and publishing of the results. The highly digitized process could lead to cost savings and reduced production schedules for naval ships.
Posted in 3D Printing Application
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