Voltage Vessels 3D prints composite RHIB prototype, seeks next steps with Eclipse X9 composite

Source | Voltage Vessels

Voltage Vessels (Maui, Hawaii, U.S.), a startup founded by Sam Young, has submitted a 6-meter 3D printed rigid hull inflatable boat (RHIB) prototype for U.S. maritime defense evaluation. The hull’s technical execution was led by CEAD (Delft, Netherlands), using its large-format additive manufacturing (LFAM) system — an industrial-scale printer used by multiple defense contractors for hull-scale composites production — and HDPro thermoplastic composite (TPC) materials.

“The goal was not to produce a certified commercial vessel,” emphasizes Sam Young, founder and CEO. “It was to create a full-scale maritime demonstrator that could help the industry better understand the practical realities of printing a boat hull at size. For Voltage, the vessel helped expose the hard parts of marine LFAM: print strategy, slicing, bead consistency, thermal control, material behavior, surface finishing, handling, repair strategy and ultimately the need for materials engineered specifically for harsh marine service.” 

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The RHIB is the spark for one of Voltage Vessels’ material platform, Eclipse X9, which combines recycled PETG thermoplastic resin with chopped basalt fiber derived from volcanic basalt rock. While basalt rock is locally abundant in Hawaii, the company currently sources basalt fiber internationally and is exploring future pathways to refine basalt from Hawaii quarry waste streams into local fiber feedstock.

Separate third-party testing commissioned by Voltage Vessels measured the materials’ tensile strength along the print direction at roughly 108 MPa, versus approximately 49 MPa for the HDPro composite used as a benchmark. Eclipse X9 also retained more than 90% of its strength after long-term saltwater immersion, with water absorption below 0.4%. Additional testing performed at the University of Maine’s Advanced Structures and Composites Center (UMaine ASCC) further validated the material’s mechanical performance under project ID UM-TC-23-1008.

Eclipse X9’s platform-agnostic properties — for LFAM operators, boatbuilders, buoys, USVs, infrastructure, tooling and other applications— are also drawing interest. Basalt fiber is nonconductive and has potentially lower radar reflectivity compared to metal/carbon fiber systems. Moreover, PETG thermoplastics are reprocessable, meaning retired printed structures could potentially be shredded and reused as feedstock, giving Eclipse X9 a sustainability angle — a key point within the company’s recover, reprocess, rebuild and reuse mindset. 

The broader pitch is also logistical as much as material: Voltage is developing scalable feedstock production pathways that could support distributed marine manufacturing as printer capacity, qualified workflows and customer demand mature

“The RHIB was made possible by CEAD’s technology and team, and by years of work from pioneers across the LFAM ecosystem, including the University of Maine and others who proved that large-scale AM could move beyond furniture, tooling and architecture into marine structures,” adds Young. “The first printed RHIB helped us understand what is possible. Eclipse X9 is where we are building the next step.”

Learn more about Voltage Vessels on LinkedIn.