3YOURMIND & Phillips Corp. Test Distributed Manufacturing at RIMPAC
3YOURMIND and Phillips Corporation are participating in the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise to validate a command and control system for distributed manufacturing, aiming to deliver critical parts on demand.
During the biennial Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) international military exercise, 3YOURMIND and Phillips Corporation Federal Division are collaborating with the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) on a distributed manufacturing experiment. The exercise, running from June 24 to July 31, focuses on synchronizing and optimizing workloads across a dispersed joint-force advanced manufacturing network.
Through the NPS Consortium for Advanced Manufacturing Research and Education (CAMRE) and its Partnership Intermediary FLEETWERX, the initiative aims to validate a "C2 - command control" system. This system is designed to orchestrate production and support the U.S. Department of War's objective of providing essential parts at the point of need. NPS is conducting defense-focused applied research to address operational challenges, including the integration of advanced manufacturing into naval operations.
The CAMRE distributed manufacturing project is leveraging 3YOURMIND's commercial software, which includes capabilities for part identification, order management, and production planning. This digital thread is intended to enhance military readiness, with the goal of fulfilling military requests for manufacturing capabilities delivered with speed and efficiency. Partnership Intermediaries like FLEETWERX are crucial in this process, providing rapid prototyping and testing frameworks to offer warfighters access to emerging technologies.
Phillips Corporation will also contribute containerized hybrid advanced manufacturing technology, incorporating both milling and 3D printing capabilities, which will be deployed on the USS ESSEX during the exercise. This integration aims to align part production with the most suitable manufacturing solutions, streamlining readiness at sea. The overall project seeks to assess the viability and necessity of future investments in distributed manufacturing capabilities by evaluating findings from these research experiments.
Prior to RIMPAC, 3YOURMIND and Phillips Corporation participated in preliminary technical exchanges, including the Joint Inter-agency Field Experimentation (JIFX) and Valiant Shield, following a "crawl, walk, run" approach to test technical compatibility and real-world feasibility. The primary objectives of these digital workstreams include reducing response times for readiness, increasing capacity for lethal capabilities, and enabling rapid iteration of weapon systems.
This development signifies a critical step in operationalizing additive manufacturing for military logistics. By testing a command and control system for distributed production during a large-scale exercise, it addresses the challenge of rapid, on-demand part delivery. This aligns with the broader push for agile and resilient supply chains in defense, reducing reliance on traditional, slower methods and potentially enabling in-situ manufacturing for sustained operations.
Edited by the news editor with AI from the original report — please refer to the original source.