SPEE3D Cold Spray Printing Debuts at Sea During RIMPAC 2026

Metal additive manufacturing just left the factory floor and proved it can operate on a rolling deck. Australia-based SPEE3D deployed its Expeditionary Manufacturing Unit aboard the Canadian partner vessel MV Asterix during RIMPAC 2026, the multinational maritime exercise held around Hawaii from June through July. The system produced eight mission-critical metal parts while the ship was underway in heavy seas.

The EMU combines SPEE3D's containerized XSPEE3D printer with post-processing gear for heat treatment and machining. Operating as part of a distributed ship-to-shore network, the unit printed 32 parts in total during the exercise. Shore teams at the Knoxville Armory produced 24, while the at-sea team handled eight directly aboard the Asterix.

An aluminum-bronze hatch knob manufactured on the ship is the most tangible proof that cold spray can work outside a controlled shop. The same process also produced an aluminum-bronze cover box that was printed and machined ashore before installation on the vessel. Of the 32 parts, 29 went through full post-processing before being handed over.

Chris Curran, program manager at the Consortium for Advanced Manufacturing Research and Education, said the effort brings together government, academia, industry, and operational partners to test advanced manufacturing where it matters most, in the hands of the warfighter.

SPEE3D CEO Byron Kennedy was more direct: At RIMPAC 2026 we deployed our Expeditionary Manufacturing Unit at sea for the first time, printing mission-critical metal parts on an open deck in heavy seas aboard the MV Asterix, alongside the US Navy and the Royal Canadian Navy. That is what it means to bring production to the fight.

Cold spray manufacturing is different from the fused deposition process most people associate with 3D printing. Instead of melting filament, SPEE3D accelerates metal powder to supersonic speeds. The particles bond on impact using kinetic energy, which avoids the warping and residual stresses that come with melting metal layer by layer. SPEE3D has already demonstrated the system in sub-zero, tropical, and battle-damaged environments. The maritime test adds another harsh operating condition to the list.

Defense organizations have been chasing this capability for over a decade. The U.S. Army and Navy first deployed 3D printers in the field in 2012. Ukraine later turned print farms into a frontline logistics tool. SPEE3D's progression from land to sea represents the next logical step: instead of moving parts from a factory to a ship, the ship carries its own micro-factory.

For now, the at-sea deployment is a demonstration, not a permanent fixture. But the data from RIMPAC feeds directly into how militaries plan logistics for the Indo-Pacific. If the next conflict stretches supply lines across ocean basins, the ability to print a latch, a bracket, or a knob on a ship deck could keep another vessel flying. Or sailing.