Phillips Corporation supplies 12 hybrid metal systems as US Navy expands Danville AM training with Markforged X7s
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Originally reported by 3Druck
Phillips Corporation is supplying 12 hybrid metal manufacturing systems to the US Navy training center in Danville, Virginia, as half of a 24-system schoolhouse expansion. The cells integrate Haas TM-1P CNC platforms with Meltio directed energy deposition (DED), so operators deposit metal and mill the same workpiece without transferring between machines-covering new builds, worn-area rebuilds, and finish machining of repaired surfaces. BlueForge Alliance procured the package for Naval Sea Systems Command; the center, run with the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research, also receives 12 Markforged X7 composite printers for fixtures, tools, prototypes, and spare parts. Bobby Keithley, Vice President of Sales and Product Strategy at Phillips Federal, said sailors will train on the same hybrid and additive systems they later use afloat, in depots, or on mobile missions.
The purchase feeds the Navy Afloat Training Program and Deployed Advanced Manufacturing strategy: make replacement parts closer to need and cut long logistics chains, already shown by a spare spray plate made aboard USS Bataan. Hybrid DED-plus-CNC fits repair and rebuild work pure powder-bed metal AM rarely covers in expeditionary settings, because deposition and finish machining stay in one envelope. The Markforged X7 layer handles polymer tooling and non-critical spares that dominate routine maintenance demand. Routing the buy through BlueForge Alliance shows defense AM scale-up moving through industrial intermediaries rather than only direct OEM-to-fleet sales.
Value hinges on whether Danville pairs machine operation with materials testing, process monitoring, and part-release discipline; without those gates, printed or repaired hardware remains a training artifact rather than fleet-authorized inventory. For Phillips Federal and Meltio, twelve hybrid cells are a training-base footprint into Navy sustainment workflows, not certified production. Success is how cleanly graduates transfer hybrid metal repair and X7 composite workflows from schoolhouse to ships and depots without redoing qualification on site.
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