EOS Works With Phillips Federal, Austal USA to Develop CopperAlloy CuNi30 for US Navy Submarine Industrial Base

Working with Phillips Federal and Austal USA, EOS has developed a copper-nickel (CuNi) material for the U.S. Navy Submarine Industrial Base (SIB) to mitigate casting supply chain delays. The material was tested and developed to meet the goal of “2+1 Columbia and Virginia Class submarine platforms” for the U.S. Navy.

The copper-nickel alloy meets UNS C96400 specifications and was engineered specifically for laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) industrial additive manufacturing (AM). It is well suited for the marine, energy and chemical industries, providing excellent corrosion resistance in salt water and sustained performance in low temperatures.

The material in combination with EOS’ platforms offers new design and production capabilities for U.S. Navy submarines, while also enabling the agency to curb global supply chain disruption because parts can be produced regionally, locally and on-demand. The material is now available commercially.

EOS CopperAlloy CuNi30 delivers excellent performance and material properties with a combination of high strength and ductility, around 510 MPa UTS and more than 20% elongation. The material achieves excellent corrosion resistance in salt water and sustained performance in low temperatures. With these mechanical properties, EOS has successfully met UNS C96400 specifications as mentioned in ASTM B369-09 for mechanical performance.

The CuNi30 material was developed and tested to alleviate the supply pressure of traditional castings and meet the goal of “2+1 Columbia and Virginia Class submarine platforms” for the U.S. Navy. Phillips Federal notes that the material’s exceptional performance combined with the competitive cost-per-part (CPP) has created a strong business case for production implementation.

“EOS was provided with a strategic objective to deliver a CuNi30 product to the U.S. Navy submarine industrial base to mitigate casting delays; a material holding unique to the naval construction industry and not widely available for AM technology use,” says Dr. Ankit Saharan, senior manager of metals technology at EOS. “We acted with priority to support the submarine program schedule, and we are pleased to share our successful product release within a few months of the project start. It is a privilege to contribute to projects of such strategic importance to our national interests.”

Supply Chain Efficiencies, Accelerated Lead Times and Reduced Inventories

Traditionally, manufacturing of CuNi alloy applications is done by casting and can be costly due to testing and quality requirements. There is also a lack of suppliers who can meet the application requirements. With the combination of EOS CopperAlloy CuNi30 and the quality and productivity of EOS platforms, these applications can now meet both requirements, while also opening new design and production capabilities industrial 3D printing affords manufacturers. The fact that parts can now be produced regionally, locally and on-demand is another huge advantage.

“We are grateful for the response from EOS and the Additive Minds team to develop EOS CopperAlloy CuNi30 so quickly,” says John Harrison, senior vice president of global additive at Phillips Federal. “This alloy is critical in many marine applications and will be important in our efforts to support the U.S. Navy Center of Excellence.”

EOS CopperAlloy CuNi30 is now commercially available for the midframe EOS M 290 and the large frame EOS M 400, followed by the four-laser EOS M 400-4 later in 2024.