The Office of Naval Research awarded a $5 million contract to Navatek LLC and the University of Maine Advanced Structures and Composites Center to research materials and novel manufacturing tools and methods to improve the design and construction of U.S. Navy and Marine Corps vessels. This research will explore opportunities to apply additive manufacturing or 3D Printing to surface vessel design and construction.
The research will develop tools and techniques to enable engineers to increase trust in additively manufactured structures, evaluate new materials, produce more complex structures, improve throughput, and reduce cost. The work will culminate in applying these technologies and tools to design unmanned surface vessels using a modular approach to vessel structural design.
“We look forward to continuing our partnership with Navatek and the ONR, creating transformative knowledge in advanced manufacturing for the Navy and transferring that knowledge into high-paying, Maine-based jobs,” said Habib Dagher, executive director of the UMaine Composites Center.
“The Navy’s decision to fund cutting-edge research in Maine is a testament to our state’s extremely talented shipbuilders, engineers and academic institutions,” said U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King, and Reps. Chellie Pingree and Jared Golden. “This investment will support the extraordinary research being done by the University of Maine’s faculty and staff along with their partner, Navatek, to improve naval technology and better protect our sailors, while also creating good-paying jobs. We are proud that this work to strengthen our national security will be conducted right here in the state of Maine.”
