SPEE3D Printed Metal Parts at Sea During RIMPAC 2026

What happened at RIMPAC

For the first time, a metal 3D printing system manufactured replacement parts aboard a ship at sea during Rim of the Pacific 2026. The US-led team placed SPEE3D's Expeditionary Manufacturing Unit on the Canadian supply vessel MV Asterix and printed eight mission-critical metal components while the ship operated in the Hawaiian Islands.

The broader exercise deployed more than 50 advanced manufacturing technologies. SPEE3D's system produced 32 metal parts in total: 24 came from a shore-based reachback cell at the Knoxville Armory in Tennessee, and the remaining eight were built at sea. Twenty-nine of those 32 parts went all the way through heat treatment and machining.

How cold spray printing works

Unlike conventional metal 3D printers that melt powder with a laser, SPEE3D's Cold Spray Additive Manufacturing accelerates metal particles to supersonic speeds and bonds them directly to the build surface. The process skips the high temperatures that cause warping and residual stress, and it runs fast enough to produce a usable part in hours instead of days.

The Expeditionary Manufacturing Unit pairs a containerized XSPEE3D printer with a SPEE3Dcell post-processing station. That means a part can move from raw powder to finished component without leaving the ship. During the exercise, the team printed an aluminum-bronze hatch knob directly aboard the Asterix and an aluminum-bronze cover box that was transferred from shore to ship.

Why the maritime test matters

Ships at sea operate weeks or months from the nearest depot. A broken pump fitting, bracket, or coupling normally means waiting for a resupply convoy or diverting to port. SPEE3D's deployment removes that constraint by placing manufacturing capability at the point of need.

Byron Kennedy, CEO of SPEE3D, said the test proved the system works on an open deck in heavy seas alongside the US Navy and Royal Canadian Navy. The company has already demonstrated cold spray in sub-zero conditions, tropical environments, and battle-damage repair scenarios. The at-sea test adds the maritime vibration and salt-air exposure that real fleet operations demand.

What comes next

The RIMPAC results feed directly into the US military's push for distributed manufacturing. The same CAMRE program that backed this exercise is now evaluating which parts should be stocked, which should be reachback-printed from shore, and which should be manufactured on board. SPEE3D's cold spray hardware is already being tested across those three categories.