The Australian Army has deployed a WarpSPEE3D 3D printer for trials in a two-week field trial in the Northern Territory.
The WarpSPEE3D printer in the first 3D printer in the world to use a new cold-spray method of printing which its manufacturer, SPEE3D, says makes it faster and cheaper to fabricate metal components than normal manufacturing. It is capable of printing large metal components up to 40kg in weight at a rate of 100 grams per minute.
“This second field deployment proves our technology is a genuine solution for expeditionary metal 3D printing,” SPEE3D CEO, Byron Kennedy said in a statement. “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. 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 here where they need them.”
The deployment as an element of 1 CSSB’s larger Brigade Support Group for Exercise Buffalo Run was part of $1.5 million investment and 12-month trial by Army in the SPEE3D technology. The trial was designed to test the 3D printer at various field locations in the hot, humid, and dusty environment of the Northern Territory’s Mount Bundey Training Area.
The printer was developed by SPEE3D along with Advanced Manufacturing Alliance (AMA) and Charles Darwin University (CDU).
