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Australian Army Tests 3D Printed Metal Armored Vehicle Parts in the Field

The use of additive manufacturing (AM) in the military has been going on for a long time. From helmets to runway mats, the speed and flexibility of 3D printing has proven to be useful to armed forces the world over.…

Australian Army Convoy
3Dnatives

The use of additive manufacturing (AM) in the military has been going on for a long time. From helmets to runway mats, the speed and flexibility of 3D printing has proven to be useful to armed forces the world over. Now, there has been yet another application of AM in the sector. Namely, the Australian Army recently proved that is is possible to 3D print and replace armed vehicle parts in the field using technology from SPEE3D.

We have previously covered SPEE3D’s innovative cold-spray technology and its usefulness for a number of industries. For example, earlier this year the technology was also used as part of the SPAC3D project which aims to make rocket engines using metal 3D printing. In this specific case, the WarpSPEE3D 3D metal printer was used allowing for faster more cost-effective metal parts when compared to other metal processes on the market. WarpSPEE3D is also the largest SPEE3D printer with a build volume of 1000mm x 700mm and able to print large metal parts of up to 40 kg at a rate of 1 kg per minute. This speed and agility is crucial for the armed forces and they hoped to prove that the printer could be effectively used to create spare parts for combat vehicles.

The parts were printed using the WarpSPEE3D 3D metal printer (photo credits: SPEE3D)

Metal 3D Printing Trials with the Australian Army

The company has previously worked with the Australian government and have been working with both the Australian Army and Royal Australian Navy to test the possibility of deploying metal 3D printing in both the barracks and in the field. SPEE3D has also helped train the Australian Army’s Additive Manufacturing Cell (AMC) technicians. These technicians were charged with leading these tests of the parts for the M113 Armored Personnel Carrier during the annual bilateral military exercise, Exercise Koolendong. This particular trial was a continuation of 2020 case studies which demonstrated the printer’s robustness in the Australian bushland.