Haddy 3D-Prints the TF-179 Drone Boat in 9 Days

Haddy, a digital manufacturing company based in St. Petersburg, Florida, has produced another uncrewed vessel using large-format robotic 3D printing. The TF-179 Drone Boat was built without traditional molds, and the company says the hull was printed and delivered in nine days.

The production system behind the TF-179 is what really stands out. Haddy operates a 32,000-square-foot microfactory running eight CEAD Flexbot systems. Seven of those robots travel on rails, printing laterally against a vertical bed. That rail-mounted setup means hull length is limited only by how much track the factory installs. CEAD's co-founder has suggested 40-meter printed boats are within reach of the approach.

The Flexbots are hybrid cells that combine additive and subtractive processes in the same envelope, with CNC post-processing built into the workflow and Siemens Sinumerik controls underneath. Haddy does not disclose the TF-179's length, displacement, propulsion, or material specifications, nor will it name the customer. What it does show is a repeatable process for turning digital models into marine hardware faster than mold-based construction allows.

Haddy built its original business on furniture, architectural elements, and casting molds before turning the same robotic cells toward boat hulls over the past year. The shift already has one high-profile data point: HavocAI's Harbinger, a 40-foot semi-submersible autonomous vessel, was designed, built, integrated, and in the water in under 30 days. The hull alone took nine days to print, with integration finishing in under a week. HavocAI credited Haddy's large-format additive manufacturing for that speed.

The company's growth strategy depends on selling the microfactory model, not just the parts. In April, Red Cat Holdings' maritime division Blue Ops signed a partnership to install Haddy's AI-driven robotic production systems at a facility in Valdosta, Georgia. That deal roughly doubles output across Blue Ops' five- and seven-meter uncrewed surface vessel lines. It also lets Haddy treat its Florida microfactory as surge capacity, shifting production closer to where vessels will actually deploy.

Other companies are arriving at the same logic from different angles. ErectorCraft launched as the first U.S. firm specializing in commercial production of 3D-printed boat hulls, using high-density polyethylene on proprietary ErectorBot systems that can be installed directly at shipyards or even onboard vessels. Established shipbuilder Damen partnered with CEAD to 3D print an HDPE workboat hull in the Netherlands, treating the project as a technical evaluation rather than a production commitment.

The remaining question is durability. Printing a hull fast has been demonstrated. Proving it holds up over a naval service life, across different suppliers and environmental conditions, is the work that turns a capability into a qualified one. For now, Haddy and its partners are collecting that data by putting printed hulls in the water.