Metal 3D printing is moving beyond factories and workshops — and directly onto ships at sea.
During RIMPAC 2026, an advanced manufacturing team demonstrated the ability to manufacture metal replacement parts while a vessel was underway, marking the first at-sea deployment of a SPEE3D cold-spray manufacturing system.
The demonstration used SPEE3D’s Expeditionary Manufacturing Unit (EMU) aboard the Canadian support vessel MV Asterix.
The idea is powerful:
Instead of waiting for a replacement component to travel through a traditional supply chain, manufacture the metal part closer to where it is actually needed.
32 Metal Parts Produced
During the demonstration, SPEE3D systems produced 32 metal parts.
Of those:
24 parts were produced through shore-based reachback manufacturing in Tennessee.
8 parts were manufactured directly at sea aboard MV Asterix.
And 29 of the 32 parts completed the full manufacturing process, including heat treatment and machining.
A Metal Factory Aboard a Ship
The Expeditionary Manufacturing Unit combines a containerized XSPEE3D metal 3D printer with post-processing and machining capabilities.
This means the manufacturing process can move from metal powder toward a finished, machined component within a deployable system.
Producing the initial metal shape is only part of the job. Many components still require heat treatment, machining and inspection before they are ready for use.
By bringing these capabilities together, the system functions more like a deployable metal manufacturing facility than simply a 3D printer.
How Cold-Spray 3D Printing Works
SPEE3D’s technology is different from many familiar metal 3D-printing processes.
Instead of using a laser to melt metal powder, Cold Spray Manufacturing accelerates metal particles to extremely high velocities.
The particles strike a surface and bond together, gradually building the desired metal geometry.
Because the material isn’t melted during deposition, the process operates differently from laser powder-bed fusion and several other common metal additive-manufacturing technologies.
Manufacturing in Heavy Seas
One of the most impressive aspects of the demonstration was the environment.
The equipment was reportedly able to operate on an open deck in heavy seas.
That’s significant because advanced manufacturing equipment normally operates inside controlled industrial facilities.
Taking metal manufacturing equipment aboard a moving vessel introduces challenges involving vibration, movement, weather and limited space.
Why Manufacture Parts at Sea?
Imagine a ship operating thousands of miles from a major supply hub when an important metal component fails.
Traditionally, the replacement may need to be located, transported and delivered to the vessel.
Distributed additive manufacturing could change that equation.
Instead of moving every physical spare part across long distances, some components could eventually be stored as validated digital manufacturing files.
When needed, the appropriate manufacturing system could produce the component closer to the point of use.
From Physical Inventory to Digital Inventory
This concept could fundamentally change spare-parts logistics.
Traditional supply chains depend heavily on warehouses filled with physical inventory.
Distributed manufacturing introduces another possibility:
PART BREAKS
⬇️
DIGITAL MANUFACTURING FILE
⬇️
METAL 3D PRINTING
⬇️
HEAT TREATMENT
⬇️
MACHINING & INSPECTION
⬇️
REPLACEMENT COMPONENT
Rather than keeping every possible replacement part physically available everywhere, some inventory could exist digitally until manufacturing is required.
A Distributed Manufacturing Network
RIMPAC 2026 also demonstrates something larger than a single printer aboard a single ship.
When multiple manufacturing systems are connected across vessels and shore facilities, production capacity can become distributed.
One location may manufacture a component for another location depending on available equipment, materials and capabilities.
That transforms additive manufacturing from an individual machine into part of a digital manufacturing network.
The Factory Goes Where It’s Needed
For years, one of additive manufacturing’s biggest promises has been producing parts closer to where they’re actually needed.
Deployable metal manufacturing takes that idea to another level.
The factory doesn’t necessarily have to wait on land.
It can travel with the operation.
The future supply chain may not always need to ship the replacement part.
Sometimes, it may only need to move the digital information required to manufacture it.
3DnMe — PRINT THE FUTURE
