How a deployable manufacturing capability impacts military supply chains.

Q+A with Ex-military logistics officer and SPEE3D’s Director of European Defence Programmes, Calum Stewart about EMU.

1. Can you provide an overview of the Expeditionary Manufacturing Unit (EMU). In terms of mobility, logistics, and capabilities?

The EMU is a containerized and ruggedized manufacturing unit in two 20ft shipping containers. EMU combines the XSPEE3D metal 3D printer and the SPEE3Dcell post-processing unit, complete with a furnace, CNC machine, and testing equipment. It can be deployed by truck in almost any location, from the bush to dockside. It’s digital and deployable manufacturing. You can start-to-finish manufacture fully dense metal parts, to use for your platforms when the supply chain cannot provide them in time.

There are no sensitive lasers, and the unit just needs a generator to make it work and some trained soldiers, craftsmen. Really simple. The real point is this tech finally allows your soldiers to make real parts of consequence in theatre in hours, not weeks, and get more equipment back in the fight more quickly.

Though it’s not just the capability we provide. SPEE3D also provides intimate support in training and more to ensure Defence can successfully implement that capability into their operations.

2. Can you share some real-world examples or success stories where the EMU has been deployed?

Ukraine is one example. They already have secured WarpSPEE3Ds through the US DoD and Australian Government and are in the process of acquiring the full capability. Why? There are currently 200 different types of platforms in Ukraine, and there is no supply chain that can keep up providing parts for that equipment. This is a challenge when some of these vehicles are 60 years old. So, what are the Ukrainian military doing out there? They’re making these parts using additive manufacturing. Not all of them. But some of them, and it’s a capability that’s needed on the front line.

The British Army have only recently taken ownership of their EMU equipment, taking it on NATO exercises across Europe like Steadfast Defender, NATO’s largest exercise deployment since the Second World War. Same with CAMRE’s Naval Post-Graduate School, who’ve used their EMU in several naval trials, like RIMPAC. It’s because traditional manufacturing is not responsive enough to meet readiness requirements in theatre. They need equipment that reduces the delivery time of critical parts.

But OEMs need to be more involved. Defence finds value in this technology. It now exists and allows soldiers to increase their equipment availability. Easy to use, easy to be trained upon without a master’s degree and makes large, useful parts. Defence wants to work with OEMs using this technology. It’s all about optimizing the process and OEM’s can help with that. To make deployable manufacturing even more successful for Defence, OEM’s need to reach out to manufacturers, like SPEE3D, and collaborate with us.

Learn more about EMU at www.spee3d.com