Newport News Shipbuilding division has successfully achieved the additive manufacturing of components for nuclear-powered warships –
Based on last year announcement, we know that this part could be 3D printed using 3D Systems’ ProX® DMP 320. Furthermore, NAVSEA validated the technical standards for 3-D printing last year, after extensive collaboration with the company and industry partners that involved the rigorous 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.
The part was presented during a ceremony to Rear Adm. Lorin Selby, Naval Sea Systems Command’s chief engineer and deputy commander for ship design, integration, and naval engineering. The part—a piping assembly—will be installed on the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) and evaluated for a one-year period.
A milestone for shipbuilding processes
“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. “It is also 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.”
Huntington Ingalls Industries is America’s largest military shipbuilding company and a provider of professional services to partners in government and industry. For more than a century, HII’s Newport News and Ingalls shipbuilding divisions in Virginia and Mississippi have built more ships in more ship classes than any other U.S. naval shipbuilder.
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