A French minehunter has become the first naval ship in the world to receive a 3D-printed propeller that was produced by French shipbuilder Naval Group.
The company said it shipped the propeller from its Nantes-Indret site in October 2020 to Brest, where it was mounted on the propeller shaft of the minehunter FS Andromede.
The propeller’s 2.5-meter span is supported by five 200-kg blades. Naval Group says the ship’s sea trials following the installation were successful.
“Obtaining military naval quality requires rigorous development. Nearly three years of R&D – carried out by the technical and innovation department in cooperation with the Ecole Centrale de Nantes within the framework of the LabCom Joint Laboratory of Maritime Technology – went into the development of the deposition process of metal wire fusion,” states Emmanuel Chol, Director of the Nantes-Indret site.
“Today, we witness a world first. It is the largest metal 3D-printed thruster ever to have been manufactured and the first propeller resulting from this technology, embarked on board a military ship and manufactured for use beyond just sea trials.”
“Today, we witness a world first. It is the largest metal 3D-printed thruster ever to have been manufactured and the first propeller resulting from this technology, embarked on board a military ship and manufactured for use beyond just sea trials.”
Naval Group said it plans to invest €7 million in metal 3D printing in 2021. Eric Balufin, director of the Naval Group site of Brest said the 3D-printed propeller success shows great promise for the future.
“This new technology will enable us to considerably reduce technical constraints, and therefore allow for new manufacturing solutions for complex geometrical shapes which cannot be produced through conventional processes. It will also enable us to greatly reduce production time and consequently in-service support.”
