Metal additive manufacturing in maritime and defense

Developments in metal additive manufacturing are increasingly being applied to maritime and defense sectors. In Germany, AMCM has opened a large-format metal 3D printing facility to increase production capacity for complex components used in aerospace and energy. Concurrently, a South Korean government-funded project involving UNIST and 3DFactory is working to develop 5-meter-class ship propellers using wire arc additive manufacturing, a technology with potential applications for U.S. Navy maintenance and repair.

Building on these technological trends, the U.S. Navy has introduced new technical requirements to scale metallic additive manufacturing across its submarine enterprise. Through the Project Peculiar Document (PPD) 802-8436658, the Navy aims to establish a repeatable pathway to replace traditional cast and wrought components with 3D-printed materials. This initiative seeks to streamline approval processes and eliminate redundant engineering assessments to address supply chain constraints and part obsolescence in submarine construction, maintenance, and repair.