First Critical Submarine Component With 3D Printed Impeller to be Installed in U.S. Navy Vessel

The U.S. Navy continues to show its interest in additive manufacturing, especially for its submarines. This time, Curtiss-Wright’s EMS Division has announced that it has delivered what it considers to be the first submarine component with a 3D printed impeller that will be installed in a U.S. Navy vessel. The part was made with the help of Sintavia.

Curtiss-Wright Corporation is a business that provides solutions to the aerospace and defense markets. Meanwhile, the EPD business, which falls under the EMS division, provides naval and maritime technological expertise sand products, becoming a leading supplier of pumps and components for surface and submerged naval fleets. At the same time, Sintavia is the world’s first all-digital aerospace and defense component manufacturer. The two worked as well with Bechtel Plant Machinery Inc, which as part of the U.S. Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program provides nuclear power plant components for submarines and aircraft carriers. Together, they developed, manufactured, tested, and supplied the submarine component which is the first to use a qualified, metal 3D printed impeller.

An artist’s rendition of a Columbia-class ballistic submarine (photo credits: Curtiss-Wright)

“Sintavia has proven to be an invaluable industry partner, and we are excited about the opportunity to further solidify our partnership by increasing the number of additively manufactured parts for this application and other critical naval defense components,” expanded David Micha, Sr. Vice President and General Manager of the EMS Division. “In addition, we are proud to be providing the first critical service equipment utilizing an additively manufactured component to the U.S. Navy’s submarine program and look forward to expanding these capabilities in the future to more efficiently serve our customer.”