Last week,Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) announced that its Newport News Shipbuilding division has partnered with 3D Systems to develop metal additive manufacturing technologies expected to accelerate the adoption of metal 3D printing in the naval shipbuilding industry.

'This is a game-changing and disruptive technology for our industry,' said Charles Southall, Newport News' vice president of engineering and design. 'In addition to our ongoing digital shipbuilding efforts, 3D printing could transform our design standards, and this technology has the potential to be one of the most significant manufacturing innovations in our industry since we began building nuclear-powered ships in the 1950s.'

But what does this announcement actually mean for U.S. shipbuilding and our national security?

Well, it begins with a little bit of history: From 1968 to 2009, the Navy commissioned, and Newport News built, 10 nuclear-powered Nimitz-class aircraft carriers-about one every four years.Now the Navy is on pace to buy a new Fordclass aircraft carrier every five years. Newport News is now about 75% complete with its second Ford Class - the U.S.S. Kennedy. And it is truly a technological marvel-far more advanced and complex than prior ships, with a wide range of advanced technologies. According to theGovernment Accountability Office, these include: 'an aircraft launch system that would use electromagnetics-versus steam-to propel aircraft off of the ship (EMALS), an advanced arresting gear (AAG) with an electric motor to recover aircraft, and a dual band radar (DBR) that would use two planar (stationary) radars to provide air traffic control, ship self-defense, and other capabilities. These technologies, along with new design features like a new propulsion system, an enlarged flight deck, and an aft positioned island, would improve combat capability, while simultaneously reducing acquisition and life-cycle costs.'

Today, there are efforts to return to a more rapid ship construction rate at reduced per-unit costs- to sustain a larger Naval fleet and project U.S. power around the globe.This will require substantial innovation in manufacturing processes to reduce part-counts, consolidate supply chains and enhance ship performance.

Last week's announcement marks a concerted effort to do just that. Direct Metal Printing (DMP) has the potential to help the Navy 'design for affordability,' by enabling new ship component designs that simply cannot be undertaken any other way.Moreover, critical metallic parts that often take 12 months-- or even longer-- to fabricate via conventional casting, welding or joining, can be built in a matter of days through 3D printing.

However, adoption of this technology will require qualification - assuring the Navy that Direct Metal Printing will produce parts repeatedly, accurately, and with resilience equal to or greater than traditional production processes. The Newport News Shipbuilding/3D Systems partnership will establish methods for designing, building and (importantly) validating metal 3D printed parts rapidly.

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3D Systems Corporation published this content on 15 May 2018 and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 15 May 2018 21:57:07 UTC