American shipbuilder Austal USA has purchased an ARCEMY Small Edition metal 3D printer from Australia’s AML3D in a deal worth approximately AU$1.2 million (USD$0.78 million).
AML3D’s proprietary Wire Additive Manufacturing (WAM) technology powers the system, which will be installed at the U.S. Navy’s Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence (AM CoE). Austal USA, a subsidiary of the Australian defense prime Austal, operates the AM CoE on the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research (IALR) campus in Danville, Virginia.
The new 3D printer will be used alongside AML3D’s large-format ARCEMY ‘X-Edition 6700’, which became fully operational at the AM CoE in April 2024. It will be mounted in a 20-foot shipping container, improving deployability and reducing field service installation times from 2-3 weeks to just 2-3 days.
Engineers and researchers will use AML3D’s 3D printer to accelerate technology development and conduct small part manufacturing. The ARCEMY Small will also serve as a precursor to a deployable 3D printer, which could be used to produce parts at the point of need across the U.S. military.
Austal USA is scheduled to receive its ARCEMY Small in January 2026. The payment will occur in stages, with 50% paid upfront and the remaining balance due upon delivery, testing, and commissioning.
“It is very exciting to be continuing building our relationship with Austal USA and our presence at the U.S. Navy’s Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence. Our ARCEMY Small system, pre-installed in a shipping container, provides the facility with all the benefits of high-quality small part manufacturing, with massively reduced lead times,” commented Pete Goumas, President & CEO of AML3D USA Inc.
“Just as importantly it demonstrates how portable ARCEMY systems can be and opens up another potentially significant market opportunity – fully forward, point of need, deployable systems that meet U.S. military specifications,” Goumas added.
AML3D and Austal USA bolster the defense industrial base with AM
AML3D’s ARCEMY Small Edition is a compact metal 3D printer with a 4.8 x 4.8 x 2.0 meter footprint, making it suitable for most factory and shop floor workspaces.
Marketed as an entry-level WAM system, it is designed to produce parts weighing up to 750 kilograms. According to AML3D, the 3D printer’s flexibility will allow Austal USA to easily redeploy it as the firm grows and reconfigures its additive manufacturing operations at the AM CoE.
Alabama-based Austal is one of four primary companies that directly build and maintain U.S. Navy vessels. The ship manufacturer is increasingly adopting additive manufacturing to reduce lead times and overcome procurement challenges in the U.S. defense industrial base.
In a recent interview with 3D Printing Industry, Dr. Scott Kasen, Director of Advanced Technologies at Austal USA, revealed that his company is 3D printing mission-critical components spanning fittings, brackets, valve bodies, and pumps. He added that Austal is looking to expand its AM operations into new end-use parts as its operations mature.
AML3D also sees additive manufacturing as a key solution to overcoming challenges in the defense supply chain. The 3D printer OEM is working to become a leading point of need, additive manufacturing solution for the U.S. Department of Defense through its ‘Scale-Up’ strategy.
This initiative has seen the firm secure numerous contracts with America’s military. Earlier this month, AML3D received a Letter of Intent from the U.S. Navy to expand 3D printing across America’s Maritime Industrial Base. The document outlines the procurement of approximately 1,600 3D printed components annually by 2030. It also revealed plans to install up to 100 large-format 3D printers, with output expected to reach 400 parts in FY 2026.
Elsewhere, the company delivered 3D printed prototype submarine tailpiece components for the U.S. Navy’s Virginia-class nuclear submarine program. The Copper-Nickel parts, valued at approximately A$156,000, were manufactured as part of the trilateral AUKUS partnership between the U.S., UK, and Australia.
AML3D’s U.S. expansion is further reflected in its financial performance. In Q3 2025, the company achieved break-even operating cash flow, driven by A$2.5 million in customer receipts and strong growth in the U.S. market. As of March 31, 2025, AML3D held A$31.4 million in cash reserves. This capital will fund the company’s next growth phase, including a AU$12 million plan to scale U.S. production and a AU$5 million investment to enter the European market.
“It was clear during my recent visit to the U.S. that we have only just begun to unlock the huge opportunity for AML3D’s advanced manufacturing technology to support the U.S. military and its wider supply chain,” explained AML3D CEO Sean Ebert.
According to Ebert, “The opportunity to deploy this highly flexible, ARCEMY Small pre-mounted solution further broadens the ARCEMY use cases for the U.S. military and commercial sectors as well as other globally important defense and non-defense markets such as the UK and Australia.”
3D printing gains ground in U.S. defense sector
Additive manufacturing is playing an increasingly important role in U.S. defense production. The DoD’s $1 trillion FY 2026 budget requests $3.3 billion across 16 projects that involve additive manufacturing. The budget allocates $58.4 million for DARPA’s Additive Manufacturing of MicrosystEms (AMEE) and OSD’s Additive Manufacturing Innovation programs, which explicitly focus on 3D printing technology. In response, Alexander Steeb, Senior Operations Director at America Makes, told 3D Printing Industry that the U.S. military is “doubling down on additive.”
Last month, composite 3D printing company Continuous Composites (CCI) was awarded a multi-year, multi-million-dollar contract from the U.S. Air Force. Through the agreement, the Idaho-based company will advance the development of high-performance composite materials using its proprietary Continuous Fiber 3D (CF3D) technology.
In other news, American military drone manufacturer Firestorm Labs recently raised $47 million in a Series A funding round led by U.S. venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates (NEA).
Investors included Lockheed Martin Ventures, Decisive Point, Washington Harbour Partners, Booz Allen Ventures. It also includes $12 million in venture debt from U.S.-based financial firm J.P. Morgan. The capital will be used to scale Firestorm’s drone 3D printing platform by expanding the company’s engineering team, opening a larger production facility, and strengthening partnerships.
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Featured image shows the AML3D ARCEMY Small Edition 3D printer. Photo via AML3D.
