AM expert Stratasys participates in Trident Warrior 25

Additive manufacturing (AM) machine manufacturer Stratasys recently participated in Trident Warrior 25, the US Navy’s flagship fleet experimentation exercise, demonstrating how AM keeps military units operational at sea and in forward-deployed locations. In partnership with FleetWerx and the Naval Postgraduate School’s Consortium for Advanced Manufacturing Research and Education (CAMRE), Stratasys supported the Joint Advanced Manufacturing Cell (JAMC) with field-deployable 3D printers and on-demand production through Stratasys Direct.

The JAMC was the Department of Defense’s largest distributed manufacturing demonstration to date, connecting assets across more than 8000 miles. The exercise allowed the Navy to print parts in-theatre or reach back to Stratasys Direct for higher volume or complex production, creating a wide-ranging ecosystem of support and options across forward-deployed locations.

During the exercise, seven different sites across the global leveraged Stratasys printers, with all parts meeting US military specifications. Trident Warrior 25 also demonstrated that by deploying 3D printers in the field, there is reduced reliance on traditional logistics chains. Lightweight, corrosion-resistant polymer parts were used to create new components, replace broken parts and produce rapid prototypes in-theatre, supported by reach-back production from Stratasys Direct.

“Trident Warrior 25 demonstrated the value of a multi-echelon polymer advanced manufacturing network,” says Morgan Bower, programme manager at FleetWerx. “By pairing field-ready solutions in forward-deployed environments with cutting-edge manufacturing expertise, the team cut lead times for critical components and boosted mission resilience.”

Adds Chris Curran, programme manager at CAMRE: “Our collaboration with Stratasys and FleetWerx during Trident Warrior highlights how academia, industry, and the military can work together to validate and accelerate new technologies. These efforts are crucial to building resilient, distributed manufacturing ecosystems for the fleet.”

More information www.stratasys.com

AM for series production on show at Formnext 2025

Machine tool manufacturer DMG Mori demonstrated at Formnext 2025 in Frankfurt last week how its additive manufacturing (AM) systems – both the LaserTec DED hybrid machines for laser deposition welding and the powder-bed models in the LaserTec SLM series for layer-by-layer manufacture – may be optimised for the series production of metallic components. The company showcased how both technologies can be seamlessly integrated into end-to-end AM process chains.

As part of its MX machining transformation strategy, the manufacturer concentrates on production in one clamping. Accordingly, LaserTec DED machines reduce throughput times by employing a six-in-one process that includes preheating, AM using a powder nozzle, 3D scanning, milling, turning and grinding.

The ability to switch between additive and subtractive technologies allows the creation of complex geometries and multi-material parts that can be endowed with bespoke properties, such as better wear or corrosion protection, or increased resistance to chemicals. AM components often have a long service life and require little maintenance, so their availability is maximised. 

With the latest LaserTec 30 SLM third-generation powder-bed AM machine, DMG Mori has introduced an interchangeable build chamber to eliminate one of the biggest bottlenecks in metal 3D printing, namely long cooling times after completion of the process. The chamber may be removed and replaced with another, pre-prepared chamber without having to wait, so production can continue almost without interruption. 

Set-up times are significantly reduced, as preparation of the chamber is performed away from the machine. This not only eliminates the need for repeated flooding of the chamber with inert gas but also lowers consumption of the shielding gas. An integrated lid increases safety and preserves the protective atmosphere between jobs, allowing powder management and material handling under inert gas conditions. 

More information www.dmgmori.com

Ex-Dyson MD joins AMufacture as new chairman

A UK additive manufacturing (AM) company has appointed the former managing director of Dyson as its new chairman. David Hollander (photo, centre) is taking on the role at Portsmouth-based AMufacture to support its rapid growth and international expansion.

AMufacture, founded in 2018 by Craig Pyser and Will Howden, says it has grown into a leading contract manufacturer in the AM industry, specialising in marine, automotive and defence contracts. It recently benefited from significant follow-on investment made by private equity firm Maven Capital and Scottish-based co-investor Turner, which has been helping ambitious companies to grow for more than 100 years.

Hollander, who has more than 40 years’ experience in leading and transforming businesses, says: “I’m delighted to join AMufacture at such an exciting time in the company’s development. We now have seven times the capacity we had two years ago with the opportunity ahead to develop either in other areas of the UK or, more importantly, overseas. What I’m bringing – from my time at Dyson and other companies – is experience of having been there and done it before. I greatly admire Will and Craig’s ambition and the progress the company has made to date. I’m also impressed by the focus and support that comes from the investment they have received.”

He continues: “The potential for growth is huge. AM has historically been used for R&D but is now at such an advanced level that it’s very cost effective for relatively short manufacturing runs and for situations of rapid change where a client does not want to commit to a long run. It allows customers to prepare for multiple scenarios in the most cost-effective way.”

More information https://amufacture.com/

AI print assistant optimises 3D printing technology

Rapid Fusion has unveiled an AI print assistant that will help enhance the performance of its robotic additive manufacturing (AM) systems. Based in the southwest, the technology specialist’s team of developers leveraged the power of AI to optimise solutions for customers printing complex components for the automotive, aerospace, construction, medical and military sectors.

After eight months of coding, troubleshooting and various live tests, ‘BoB (Base of Build)’ is rolling out to existing clients and promising to optimise their robots by making them easier to use, providing greater operator control and ensuring less downtime through preventative maintenance.

The pre-loaded knowledge bank, anticipated to be one of the largest collections of 3D printing expertise ever created, functions in both secure online/cloud-connected and offline/air-gapped configurations for military or IP-sensitive clients. This works with Rapid Fusion’s existing models like Apollo and Zeus and for its most recent system, Medusa, the first UK-built large-format hybrid 3D gantry printer.

“There’s a lot of talk about how AI can transform the business world and numerous companies are jumping on the bandwagon,” explains Martin Jewell, CTO at Rapid Fusion. “It’s something we’ve been aware of from day one and all of our robotic AM systems have been built so that we can use AI to unleash the full potential of our technology.”

He continues: “Having our own AI print assistant is a gamechanger and will cut machine downtime and boost efficiency. We’re teaching our systems to understand challenges and different scenarios, which means we can make the user interface more responsive and simpler to embrace – opening it up to all the workforce. In essence, if we can make our systems as ‘plug and play’ as possible it means we’ll have more adopters.”

More information www.rapidfusion.co.uk

Maritime project benefits from large-scale AM

A project using large-scale additive manufacturing (AM) to produce shipbuilding components has completed its second phase, with results showing strong potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, secure supply chains and deliver significant economic benefits for the maritime sector. The project’s redesigned metal component – a topology optimised tapping ring – delivered a 10% reduction in emissions, cut lead times by 90% and reduced vessel weight by 13% in testing.

Led by Glasgow-based Malin Marine Consultants (MMC), part of Malin Group, with support from the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS) – operated by the University of Strathclyde – Marine Vessel Lightweighting (MariLight) 2.0 builds on an initial feasibility study aimed at shifting the sector away from traditional manual fabrication towards automated, flexible and environmentally friendly manufacturing approaches.

The redesigned part underwent rigorous hydrostatic and leak testing under sustained pressure, which project partner Lloyd’s Register witnessed to ensure independent verification of the tests – a crucial step towards wider sector adoption.

The tapping ring was manufactured using Direct Energy Deposition-Arc (DED-Arc) technology at NMIS’s Digital Factory – an AM process that builds metal parts layer by layer using advanced welding techniques. This enabled local, on-demand production of lighter, optimised components with minimal material waste.

Other project partners included BAE Systems, Caley Ocean Systems (part of the Pryme Group), Siccar, Altair and Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence. Altair produced the topology-optimised design for the tapping ring using its design optimisation software (Altair Inspire and Altair Optistruct).

Hexagon provided advanced computational modelling solutions, simulating the DED-Arc process and assessing factors such as temperature gradients and distortion prediction, while Siccar delivered a secure data-sharing platform, enhancing supply chain transparency through data traceability and real-time access to verified information.

More information www.nmis.scot