More aerospace and defense facilities are paying attention to additive manufacturing (AM) for its speed and ability to create parts with complex geometries. The U.S. Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program, which supports all nuclear-powered Naval submarines and aircraft carriers, is particularly excited about AM’s precision and lightweight parts that streamline designs. So much so that a new AM facility is being built to support its submarine nuclear systems.

Bechtel Plant Machinery, Inc. (BPMI) has been the prime contractor for the program’s nuclear components and recently awarded Sintavia a contract to develop the dedicated facility. The new, vertically integrated facility will develop and additively manufacture advanced nuclear propulsion systems for the U.S. Navy’s in-production and in-development submarine programs, including the next-generation nuclear-powered attack submarine.

“Additive technology — both with respect to design and manufacturing — is well-known to be a superior method for supplying complex systems across the aerospace and defense industry,” said Brian Neff, Sintavia’s founder and CEO. “But a full adoption of the technology is not possible without investments in the materials, processes, and quality systems needed to additively produce these difficult systems successfully and repeatedly. As the U.S. Navy looks to develop advanced submarine platforms, it is imperative that additive technology plays a central role in that development.

The new Hollywood, Florida location is expected to come online in the second quarter of 2023.

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