MELTIO DEMONSTRATES ITS ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY ON BOARD THE USS ESSEX DURING RIMPAC 2026

Meltio’s metal additive manufacturing technology has successfully taken part in a manufacturing demonstration at sea during the international RIMPAC 2026 exercise. Snowbird Technologies produced and machined a 316L stainless steel component on board the USS Essex using its SAMM Tech mobile platform, which incorporates the Meltio Engine Blue system.

Meltio’s solution utilises laser-based Direct Energy Deposition (DED) technology with metal wire, enabling the manufacture of parts close to their final geometry from commercial wire. Subsequently, the CNC machining capability integrated into SAMM Tech allows the required tolerances and finishes to be achieved without transferring the parts to other facilities.

The demonstration, carried out as part of an experiment by the Naval Postgraduate School, highlights the potential of this technology to manufacture components directly in operational environments and reduce reliance on conventional supply chains.

Following tests conducted during the voyage between San Diego and Hawaii, the system will continue to operate onshore during RIMPAC 2026 to evaluate new applications for distributed manufacturing.