- Volt Vessels tests 3D printed naval boat for defense evaluation program
- Eclipse X9 combines recycled plastic with basalt fiber reinforcement material
- Material features high tensile strength, validated by University of Maine testing
A small Hawaiian company is trying to change ship manufacturing by replacing traditional shipyard construction with large industrial printers and basalt-reinforced thermoplastics.
Volt Vessels, founded by Sam Young, recently submitted a 20-foot Rigid Hull Inflatable Boat (RHIB) for U.S. Maritime Defense Evaluation programs.
The vessel is produced using a Dutch CEAD additive manufacturing system capable of manufacturing large-scale composite marine structures.
3D printing eliminates the old shipyard
Military RHIB platforms traditionally require fixed production facilities, extensive fiberglass work, specialized molds and a highly skilled workforce working to long manufacturing schedules.
Voltage Vessels says these systems create dangerous vulnerabilities during conflicts where damaged ships must be immediately replaced far from continental shipyards.
Instead, the company offers distributed production centers capable of printing replacement cases directly from digital files using locally composed raw materials.
The material behind this approach is called Eclipse X9, a composite combining recycled polyethylene terephthalate glycol (PETG) thermoplastic and chopped basalt fibers.
Basalt is a volcanic rock that has exceptionally high resistance to corrosion, compression, environmental degradation and long-term exposure to marine conditions.
According to tests validated by the Advanced Structures and Composites Center at the University of Maine, the Eclipse X9 demonstrated a tensile strength approaching 108 MPa.
This level of performance corresponds to the pressure conditions encountered near the bottom of the Mariana Trench, the deepest chasm on Earth, at nearly 11 kilometers deep.
The material reportedly retained more than 90% of its structural strength after prolonged saltwater immersion tests spanning more than 24 months.
Its water absorption remained below 0.4% throughout the evaluation periods, an important figure because excessive absorption gradually weakens marine hull materials over time.
Volt Vessels also claims that Eclipse X9 offers superior structural performance compared to established benchmark composites already used in maritime additive manufacturing.
Unlike aluminum structures, basalt composites do not significantly interfere with radio frequency transmissions supporting navigation systems, radar networks, or communications equipment aboard unmanned vessels.
Distributed manufacturing could reshape Indo-Pacific naval logistics
The Pentagon increasingly favors distributed maritime operations throughout the Indo-Pacific region, where replacement ships can face severe constraints and contested conditions.
Transporting replacement hulls from mainland American shipyards to areas of the Pacific takes weeks, while relying on vulnerable infrastructure networks.
Voltage Vessels says localized additive manufacturing could significantly reduce replacement lead times, as production would only require printers, electrical power and regional supplies of materials.
The company says its national preparation infrastructure could eventually reach 15,000 tonnes per year through regional partnerships in the Pacific territories.
Since PETG thermoplastics can be melted repeatedly without substantial degradation, damaged structures could theoretically be recycled directly into newly printed replacement components.
Whether stress ships can truly transform shipbuilding remains unclear until independent defense laboratories validate their long-term operational performance.
Via Defense Blog
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