The US Navy’s largest shipbuilder Newport News Shipbuilding has announced the installation of an absolutely massive 3D printed valve manifold onboard the ‘CVN 80’ aircraft carrier.
Said to be the first 3D printed build of its kind, the 5-foot-long 1,000-pound assembly is designed to distribute fluid from a single source to multiple points around the vessel. Using additive manufacturing, Newport is understood to have reduced both costs and lead times for the US Navy, while improving the quality of critical components for military craft.
“What started as a proof of concept quickly turned into a tangible result that is making a meaningful difference to improve efficiencies in shipbuilding,” explained Dave Bolcar, Newport’s VP of engineering and design. “The benefits of this innovation will extend well beyond Enterprise (CVN 80), as we incorporate our expertise in additive manufacturing into the fundamentals of shipbuilding.”
Heavyweight 3D printing at Newport
Newport may be a big player in the shipbuilding industry, but it’s actually just one division of a larger defense contractor. Across its business, HII has been pushing the boundaries of 3D printing for some time. As long ago as 2017, its Huntington Ingalls division partnered with 3D Systems to drive forward the qualification and certification of maritime 3D printing.
Since then, HII’s subsidiaries have kicked on with the technology, bringing several ambitious builds to life in order to meet customer demand. In 2022, for example, Newport was missing a superlift part that threatened to throw a project off schedule. Instead of pushing the deadline back, its engineers 3D printed a heavy-duty, critical sensitive component on-site.
In their latest project, the Newport team have worked with 3D printing service provider DM3D Technology to take things up a gear (and a weight category) with a huge manifold. Again, switching from traditional casting to additive manufacturing is understood to not just have improved efficiency, but allowed the shipyard to “reduce schedule risk.”
Following the system’s installation onboard the Gerald R. Ford-class Enterprise carrier, Newport has now 3D printed 55 parts for vessels, with another 200 planned this year. Moving forwards, the shipyard is “pursuing all opportunities to support construction” with 3D printing.
3D technologies: Not just for the Navy
In the military, 3D technologies are becoming indispensable tools for rapidly reverse engineering and manufacturing bespoke parts on-site at point of need. But they’re not just handy for naval vessel maintenance, they’re also proving extremely useful in civilian boatbuilding.
The likes of Blaupause Bootsbau use Artec Leo & Ray II 3D scanning to make custom interiors and decking for pleasure boats in Europe with super-high accuracy and speed. Across the pond, TT Custom Marine does something similar, making custom synthetic decking for each craft they come across – reflecting the continued growth of 3D technologies at sea.
As more resilient rust and waterproof materials get certified for maritime deployment, even larger, more ambitious applications will surely open up. All the more reason to keep an eye on Newport and Huntington Ingalls in future, for further 3D innovations to come.
