3D printing software developer 3YOURMIND and Phillips Corporation Federal Division are participating in a distributed manufacturing experiment organized by the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) as part of the biennial Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) military exercise, running from June 24 to July 31 around the Hawaiian Islands.
The experiment, conducted through the NPS Consortium for Advanced Manufacturing Research and Education (CAMRE) and its Partnership Intermediary FLEETWERX, is designed to test a command-and-control system for coordinating production requests across a distributed joint-force additive manufacturing (AM) network. The broader objective is to demonstrate the feasibility of delivering parts at the point of need in operational environments.
Software and Hardware on the USS Essex
3YOURMIND is supplying its commercial off-the-shelf platform, which covers part identification, order management, and production planning, to manage the digital thread across participating units. The software is intended to orchestrate manufacturing requests and route production tasking in a fragmented asset environment.
Phillips Corporation will provide containerized hybrid AM technology, including milling and 3D printing capabilities, aboard the USS Essex during the exercise. The setup pairs a part assessment tool with a common operational picture to coordinate production decisions at sea.
“This partnership aligns part production with the optimal manufacturing solution,” said retired USMC Colonel Patrick Tucker, Strategic Business Development Manager at Phillips Corporation. “By coupling a unique part assessment tool with a common operational picture and a manufacturing tool, we are streamlining readiness at sea.”
“Getting the right part to the right place at the right time remains one of the military’s most persistent challenges,” said Morgan Bower, Director of FLEETWERX. “RIMPAC allows us to evaluate technologies that help identify requirements, connect them to manufacturing resources and accelerate delivery to operators, providing valuable insight into the future of military sustainment.”
A Crawl-Walk-Run Approach
Before RIMPAC, 3YOURMIND and Phillips Corporation took part in two preliminary technical exchanges: Joint Inter-agency Field Experimentation (JIFX) at Camp Roberts in Monterey, California, and Valiant Shield in Okinawa, Japan, in May and June, respectively. Those exchanges were structured to validate technical compatibility and operational feasibility ahead of the larger exercise.
“We’re moving advanced manufacturing out of the lab and into the fleet. But to operationalize that during a massive exercise like RIMPAC, we needed absolute command and control over the digital supply chain. It’s about ensuring the right unit gets the right file at the exact right time, so they can print what they need to stay in the fight,” said Chris Curran, CAMRE Program Manager.
The research findings from RIMPAC will inform future investment decisions in distributed AM capabilities. NPS has framed the project as an applied research exercise, with the goal of reducing response times for readiness, expanding capacity for critical systems, and enabling faster iteration of weapon systems.
“Establishing a digitized manufacturing network is fundamentally an enterprise problem concerning fragmented people and assets,” said William Cuervo, President of 3YOURMIND’s North American operations. “The strategy involves addressing this enterprise problem and tailoring the solution for military requirements.”
The Push to Operationalize AM for Military Readiness
Within defense programs, AM is increasingly being treated as a readiness requirement rather than a research domain. The Department of Defense‘s FY 2026 budget allocates $3.3 billion across programs involving AM, an 83% increase from the prior fiscal year, signaling a shift toward on-demand distributed production as a strategic priority. The RIMPAC experiment is structured as applied research, with findings intended to inform whether future investment in distributed AM capabilities is necessary and viable.
NPS has used military exercises as testing grounds for distributed AM before. At Trident Warrior 2025, the Navy’s Fleet experimentation exercise brought together more than 20 organizations to support the Joint Advanced Manufacturing Cell (JAMC), testing point-of-need repairs to evaluate how AM can shorten turnaround times in disconnected or contested settings. During RIMPAC 2024, NPS CAMRE deployed metal and polymer AM systems to demonstrate that part delivery times could be cut from up to 200 days to hours.
RIMPAC 2026 builds on those efforts by testing whether command-and-control software can coordinate production across a multinational exercise in a live operational environment.
3D Printing Industry is inviting speakers for its 2026 Additive Manufacturing Applications (AMA) series, covering Energy, Healthcare, Automotive and Mobility, Aerospace, Space and Defense, and Software. Each online event focuses on real production deployments, qualification, and supply chain integration. Practitioners interested in contributing can complete the call for speakers form here.
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Featured image shows 3YOURMIND’s solutions support efforts to digitize equipment, ensuring units’ operability without a network connection. Image via 3YOURMIND.
