EOS, AMEXCI, and Saab Join Forces to 3D Print Parts for Finnish Navy

EOS, German-US additive manufacturing (AM) pioneer, has partnered with the Additive Manufacturing Excellence in Industry (AMEXCI) consortium, as well as Swedish defense contractor Saab, to print metal parts for Finland’s navy. The partnership will contribute to the efforts of Squadron 2020, a project of the Finnish Defense Forces (FDF) that aims to replace seven vessels planned for decommission with four corvettes — small, agile warships used for a range of naval combat activities.

AMEXCI, founded in 2017 with support from some of Scandinavia’s largest industrial conglomerates — including Saab — aims to accelerate the Nordic world’s adoption of advanced manufacturing practices in general, and AM in particular. To that end, AMEXCI initiated a strategic expansion in the summer of 2023, backed by Ericsson in addition to Saab, and centered on a new factory in Örebro, Sweden.

EOS, one of the foundational enterprises in the global AM industry, counts the development of manufacturing applications for maritime defense among one of its biggest strong-suits in recent years. For instance, in February 2024, EOS announced the release of a new copper-nickel alloy in collaboration with US federal contractors Phillips Federal and Austal USA, as part of the work of the latter two companies in support of the US Navy’s submarine industrial base program.

In a press release, the FDF commented, “The project increases the capabilities of domestic industries in designing and manufacturing components for challenging military environments using AM. The [FDF] sees the project as fulfilling the needs and supporting the interest of national military defense and security of supply.”

The managing director of AMEXCI, Johannes Karjalainen, said, “I’m thrilled to be involved in developing new technologies and creating novel Nordic collaboration with Saab and EOS. I believe our new competencies developed within this project will be beneficial for many companies and stakeholders, and it will strengthen Finnish supply chain resilience in challenging situations.”

EOS’s Senior Metal Solutions Architect, Paula Kainu, said, “Over the years, we have developed comprehensive know-how on AM materials with an extensive materials data bank, which we will leverage in this project. By combining our extensive experience with the specific application requirements, we can develop an AM solution that perfectly fits, not only advancing this project but adding value to many companies alike.”

Even as there is a growing awareness of how important military applications have been, and continue to be, to AM’s increasing adoption, the potential for cross-military collaboration to take that trajectory up a notch remains rather under-appreciated. As I’ve noted frequently in the past, NATO’s inherent nature as a bed for technological cross-pollination could be pivotal in Western efforts to use AM for revitalizing the domestic manufacturing ecosystems of NATO member-nations.

Along those lines, EOS’s presence in the US and Germany, as well as its aforementioned work with the US Navy (and other US military branches), makes the company a perfect partner for AMEXCI — a project largely embracing companies from NATO’s two newest members, Finland and Sweden. Especially considering that a major Western defense contractor like Saab is also involved, EOS’s work with AMEXCI here is an important step towards establishing the foundation that can enable the US military to work with other NATO members on their collective AM goals.

In the same way that the development of new applications is the key to continued expansion for the AM industry, the development of the right applications is the key to determining how quickly that expansion will take place. EOS’s work with AMEXCI and Saab illustrates the extent to which the best applications result from the formation of the most coherent partnerships.

Featured image, a rendering of the future corvettes at the heart of the Squadron 2020 project, courtesy of the FDF.