3D Printing – US Navy successfully 3D Printed Mini Submarine – 3D Printing (or Additive Manufacturing – AD) has unlimited manufacturing capabilities, and the US Navy proved it when they collaborated with Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to apply the Big Area Additive Manufacturing (BAAM) technology to produce a fully functional, 30-feet long mini submarine (appx. 9.144 meters).
The submarine, according to a post by the US Department of Defense, is a clone of a SEAL Delivery Vehicle, used to covertly transport 6 soldiers or equipment, by using another ship to tow the submarine behind. According to a report by the Navy, soldiers inside the submarine must wear diving suits and oxygen tanks due to the submarine being completely flooded when submerged (Jotham, 2017) [1]
3D Printing – US Navy successfully 3D Printed Mini Submarine
(Source: Keller, 2017) [2]
The submarine was made entirely from Carbon Composite Fiber. The BAAM technology has been deep-dived at the ORNL’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility (MDF) for a week. By the second week, they started printing their designs, and by week three, the parts have already finished manufacturing and ready to be assembled. The cost for production of the submarine is around $60,000 and it took less than a month for completion, whereas the traditional method requires $600,000 to $800,000 and it takes from 3 to 6 months to manufacture. The BAAM technology allowed the US Navy to save from 85-90% production costs and shortened manufacturing time to a matter of days. This allows the Navy to produce vehicles “on demand” while still saving costs and production time (Wang, 2017) [3]
3D Printing – US Navy successfully 3D Printed Mini Submarine
3D Printing – US Navy successfully 3D Printed Mini Submarine
The collaboration between ORNL and US Navy not only opened up the opportunities for the US Navy in revolutionizing production in the defense sector but also help the ORNL in researching for further potential 3D Printing applications in the manufacturing of ships, aerospace, construction and any other sectors that require large and resilient structures.
References:
[1] Jotham, I., 2017, “The US Navy 3D-Printed a 30ft Long Submersible craft in under a month” [ONLINE]. Available from International Business Times UK at URL: http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/us-navy-3d-printed-30ft-long-concept-submersible-craft-under-month-1632626
[2] Keller, J., 2017, “The Navy can now 3D Print Submarines on the fly for SEALs” [ONLINE]. Available from Task&Purpose at URL: http://taskandpurpose.com/navy-3d-printing-submarines/
[3] Wang, B., 2017, “30 foot long proof of concept 3D Printed Submarine hull will be ten times cheaper” [ONLINE]. Available from Next Big Future at URL: https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2017/07/30-foot-long-proof-of-concept-3d-printed-submarine-hull-will-be-ten-times-cheaper.html
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