Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) Tactical Innovation Implementation Lab (TIIL) is advancing and maturing additive manufacturing (AM, also known as 3D printing) technology into the naval shipyards to support the fleet through Print Sprint II.

 Partnering with the Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Division, Keyport, the NAVSEA Print Sprint series of events acts as a catalyst for Navy maintenance providers to work collaboratively towards new solutions and applications for additive manufacturing.

 “NUWC Division, Keyport, has been super engaged with the afloat components to find parts that could be 3D printed remotely or even aboard a ship once we can get printers out there,” said Suzie Simms, TIIL tactical implementation manager.

 The FY 19 Department of Defense Appropriations Act includes an increase of $20M to support the development of advanced additive technologies for the sustainment of naval assets. The committee recognized the need to accelerate the delivery of technical capabilities to support the warfighter and to advance technologies that will modernize and sustain military systems in a cost-effective manner via the Advanced Shipyard Technology (AST) program.

 “It is important to recognize the link between investment in, and development of, emerging technologies to create efficiency for both public and private organizations,” said Janice Bryant, director of the TIIL.  “Additive manufacturing has the potential to revolutionize the Navy’s supply chain.  Sprint efforts are centered on advancing and maturing this capability within and across Navy maintenance depots.”

 Print Sprints are the means to meet this objective.  The first print sprint was held in 2018 at NUWC Division, Keyport.  The focus of this effort was to gauge the fleet and shipyards’ abilities to rapidly create a random part through additive manufacturing.  Simms said a technical data package (TDP) was sent out so that all the participants would be creating the same item.  The TDP contains everything needed for a 3D printer to build a part, from three-dimensional scans of the item to the computer code needed by the printer itself.  If the TDP is not complete or does not contain enough information, the parts generated could be substandard and potentially unsafe.

“Less than half of the parts printed were compliant with the requirements,” Simms said.  This was not a criticism of the effort; rather, it was proof the first print sprint worked because the results gave the TIIL hard data on maintenance capabilities, Simms said.

Held in San Diego, Print Sprint II was attended by more than 51 people from a diverse array of Navy organizations including NUWC Division, Keyport; all four major shipyards; regional maintenance centers and even Ship Repair Facility (SRF) Yokosuka.

Simms says NUWC Division, Keyport has a unique role in developing and fielding additive manufacturing technology because it is currently one of the only places with 3D printers capable of printing metal.  Most other 3D printers around NAVSEA’s facilities use polymers, but not metal.  The ability to print metal parts remotely from a securely transmitted TDP, or even eventually print metal parts aboard a deployed ship, would represent a significant leap forward in naval maintenance and repair capabilities while furthering a culture of affordability in maintenance and repair efforts.

NUWC Division, Keyport’s ability to 3D print metal means that this new frontier in additive manufacturing can be shared across NAVSEA in real time.  This speeds up the effort to deploy additive manufacturing across shipyards and maintenance facilities and, one day, even aboard a ship underway.

Bryce Weber, Applied Technology Lead System Engineer at NUWC Division, Keyport’s Rapid Prototyping and Fabrication Technology Department, said Print Sprint II was not only a chance to advance NAVSEA’s additive manufacturing capabilities, but also an opportunity to build relationships and awareness among the participating facilities by providing a unified view of the overall mission.

“The sprint events serve as high-velocity learning opportunities for the public shipyards and repair maintenance centers (RMCs),” Weber said.  Providing that perspective encourages innovators to use AM technologies within maintenance environments to boost speed and agility where it makes sense.

Weber said the time is right for shipyards to begin integrating a business model were 3D printing is a viable alternative for creating end-use parts, complex tooling and even training mockups.

Encouraging a cultural shift of accepting new technology is only one aspect to integrating it into the maintenance centers in a practical sense.  NAVSEA is a vast network of research and development (R&D) organizations like NUWC Division, Keyport, and waterfront-based heavy industrial activities like the shipyards.  Each of these players has a part to contribute to solving the puzzle of practical integration.

“Print Sprint II brought together individuals with diverse maintenance needs, so we leveraged the event to highlight why it’s so essential to share our successes, failures, and processes together as one team,” Weber said.  “We urged the attendees to identify R&D needs in order to help justify investments in AM technology implementation in their shipyards and RMCs.  Our NUWC Division, Keyport AM engineering team is really geared-up to rapidly co-develop, test, and field new AM solutions with innovated-minded partners.”

The first hurdle the Print Sprint II team identified is the establishment of a standardized TDP format to ensure all necessary data and computer code is captured so that a part printed from a future TDP will always 100% compliant with specifications.  There was substantial improvement in the results seen between Print Sprints I and II, meaning the TIIL is on the right track to implementing a practical solution.

The integration of new technology is never an easy path, but NAVSEA’s unique “sprint” collaborations bring together a vast and diverse array of talent and ideas.  The successes of Print Sprints I and II prove the concept is sound as NAVSEA seeks to continue advancing fleet maintenance and readiness at a reduced cost.  Sailors and civilian maintenance technicians in the near future will find it a commonplace practice to download a secure TDP from the NAVSEA library and 3D print a part the day it is needed.

“Print Sprints leverage partnerships to provide value to our naval shipyards through knowledge sharing, holistic development and systemic integration.   We are incredibly proud of the work these teams are doing to advance additive manufacturing,” said Bryant.

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