Leading the way in pioneering additive manufacturing techniques. 

Ensuring that the critical services and assets of our armed forces are readily available, affordable and long-lasting is a vital task.

Overcoming the challenge of outdated and inadequate manufacturing methods has never been more important.

Babcock is leading the way in pioneering additive manufacturing techniques to overcome obsolescence, reduce cost, improve performance and availability to enhance our customers’ defence capabilities and critical assets.

As innovators within the UK Defence sector, we’re focussing on increasing our capability in the 3D printing of metal parts. Through innovation and technology we are working smarter so we can print components on demand from a digital library.

At a glance:

• Leading the way in pioneering additive manufacturing techniques
• Focussing on increasing our capability in 3D printing metal parts
• British Army armoured vehicles are already benefitting from additive manufacturing

Mission ready, quicker than ever

As a long-term partner to the British Army, we maintain their armoured vehicles including their Titan and Trojan fleets, which are already benefitting from our innovative capabilities. Using additive manufacturing, we are producing parts of the fleet’s periscope system, helping to maximise the availability of these platforms.

The process to print parts that are obsolete or required in low quantity, such as the periscope clamp, can now be completed in days instead of months, significantly increasing efficiency for our customer.

For metallic parts, we are using Powder Bed Fusion and Wire Arc additive manufacturing processes. Between these two technologies, all the geometries and materials currently required can be addressed.

These techniques are part of a growing investment programme around additive manufacturing, which is progressing to other areas of Babcock.

Building a more sustainable future

Developing our additive capabilities will help us achieve our sustainability goals, minimise waste, increase resource efficiency and help us to increase asset performance.

Collaboration with our customer is key to us finding and integrating the right technology solution to the changing engineering challenges we face.

We are proudly supporting the UK Ministry of Defence Defence Support Strategy, and the innovative approaches we are taking now in our additive manufacturing programmes will help us and our customers better prepare for the changing battlespace. We are working towards a future where the additive techniques and processes we are putting into place now will be readily available to benefit our other military and civil customers.