RFQ

Large-Format Metal Additive Manufacturing Services

50% or more lead time reduction!

large-format metal additive manufacturing makes big parts in less time.

Save time, reduce direct and indirect costs, explore more possibilities. and operate with greater efficiency than traditional manufacturing operations by utilizing large-format metal additive manufacturing for your next large part or component!

Metal additive manufacturing (3D printing) solutions have previously been limited to small parts using metal powders (also known as DMLS, or direct metal laser sintering). While these options are fast, and at first, exciting, technology has evolved. Customers previously had to compromise on size, material waste, and porosity. Our new, proprietary technology, wire-based metal additive manufacturing, eliminates those trade-offs and delivers unmatched advantages over traditional manufacturing processes such as CNC machining.

value proposition

commercial considerations

REDUCE TURN-AROUND TIME

Reduce prototype and part lead times from months to weeks, especially compared to castings/forgings.

Expand Design Freedom

Reduce weight and mix multiple materials.

PRODUCE FUNCTIONAL PROTOTYPES

Quickly test actual use in real environments

reduce inventory costs

Print on demand and eliminate supply chain bottlenecks.

parts consolidation

Drive down the number of parts to assemble.

reduce manufacturing operations

Fewer operations, fewer handoffs

reduce material waste

Use less material compared to subtractive processes

value proposition

physical considerations

MATERIALS

We can 3D print a variety of industrial metals including combinations of materials: steels, stainless steels, Invar®, nickel alloys, and bronze.

size

Open new possibilities: Large format metal additive parts are measured in feet or meters, not mere inches.

complexity

Tackle part geometries and features that are challenging or not possible for traditional casting or machining

Robotic weld cell for large-scale metal additive manufacturing (wire arc additive manufacturing or 3D printing)

not your typical robotic programming

cad to path programming

With large format wire-based metal additive manufacturing, the part is manipulated while depositing. Advanced software is critical to address complex path planning and coordinated motion between the robot and the positioner.

Read more

Accelerate Your Projects

Reduce Time to Market

Eliminate tooling bottlenecks. Shorten delivery times on long lead products. Compress prototype design and test cycles.

Read more

not your typical robotic programming

cad to path programming

With large format wire-based metal additive manufacturing, the part is manipulated while depositing. Advanced software is critical to address complex path planning and coordinated motion between the robot and the positioner.

Read more

Accelerate Your Projects

Reduce Time to Market

Eliminate tooling bottlenecks. Shorten delivery times on long lead products. Compress prototype design and test cycles.

Read more

your complete finished part provider

Save time, reduce direct and indirect costs and operate with greater efficiency compared to traditional manufacturing operations.

Metal additive solutions have been limited to smaller-sized parts using metal powders. While fast, customers have had to compromise on size, material waste and porosity limitations. Wire-based metal additive technology eliminates those trade-offs and delivers advantages over traditional manufacturing processes.

CAD-TO-PATH SOFTWARE

Our proprietary SculptPrint™ software slices your CAD model, determines the ideal path for material deposition, and incorporates optimized process parameters for each layer.

CAD model made with proprietary software for large-scale metal additive manufacturing (wire arc additive manufacturing or 3D printing)
Robotic weld cell for large-scale metal additive manufacturing (wire arc additive manufacturing or 3D printing)

FLEXIBLE AUTOMATION

We manufacture and integrate our additive systems, including the robotic cells and positioners, arc power sources with application-specific Waveform Control Technology®, wire feeders, feedback and control, and Industry 4.0 IoT-ready production monitoring.

FEEDSTOCK MANUFACTURER

We also produce the additive feedstock material used to build your parts. These materials are produced to extremely tight chemical composition tolerances and feature controlled surface treatments, precision layer winding, and appropriate bulk packaging for additive applications.

Feedstock for large-scale metal additive manufacturing (wire arc additive manufacturing or 3D printing)
Huge 5-axis CNC machine for post-processing in large-scale metal additive manufacturing (wire arc additive manufacturing or 3D printing)

ADDITIVE + POST-PROCESSING CAPABILITIES

We will produce a finished part to your specifications, including a controlled additive build, machining, and other operations as required to deliver a complete assembly. Industry certifications include QC/QA, ISO 9001, Nadcap, and AS9100D. Read more about our post-processing.

Learn more

how we deliver

THE INDUSTRY'S LEADING ADDITIVE SOLUTIONS

Lincoln Electric Additive Solutions is uniquely positioned in this space to bring the right experience and technologies to bear for your project, based on your material and application requirements. Using GMAW arc welding or laser hot-wire processes, we can tap into a deep well of welding deposit, equipment and automation knowledge to meet your needs. Every step is customized to deliver the material and design for your specific application. Every conversation is a collaboration between our team and yours. Every outcome is designed to meet your operational needs.

step 1

collaborate

connecting our experts with your experts
  • Part design
  • Materials
  • Functional requirements
  • Additive manufacturing process
value

Designing with additive in mind, we look for ways to reduce weight, increase strength, combine materials for best advantage, merge additive and subtractive processes and add functional features not possible using traditional manufacturing methods. Our goal is to reduce part costs, improve lead times and enhance part performance.

Design of large-scale part to be made with large-format metal additive manufacturing (wire arc additive manufacturing or 3D printing)
Design of part to be made with large-format metal additive manufacturing (wire arc additive manufacturing or 3D printing)

step 2

quote

preparation and customer review
  • Price
  • Schedule
  • Deliverables
value

This is our opportunity to confirm for your team and ours what will be delivered, including a final check on part design, build strategy, testing, prototyping and final processing.

step 3

print / process

turn-key part fabrication
  • Prototype
  • Near-net shape
  • Heat treating and other processing
  • Machining
  • Part finishing
value

Parts are printed, monitored for bead height and positional stacking, inspected and moved to post processing as requested. Functional prototypes may require less processing, while low volume parts or field failure repair tasks may require finish machining.

Large-scale part made with large-format metal additive manufacturing (wire arc additive manufacturing or 3D printing)
Large-scale part made with large-format metal additive manufacturing (wire arc additive manufacturing or 3D printing) after post processing

step 4

deliver

receive your part in a fraction of the time
  • Final inspection
  • Testing available
  • Post-project evaluation
value

Parts are drop-shipped to your destination from start to finish in a few days or weeks compared to several weeks or months for many traditional machining or casting operations.

MATERIALS WE PRINT

Steel for large-scale additive manufacturing (wire arc additive manufacturing or 3D printing)

steel

Low-Carbon (Mild) and High Strength, Low-Alloy

Stainless Steel for large-scale additive manufacturing (wire arc additive manufacturing or 3D printing)

stainless steel

3xx Series and 410 Martensitic for high-strength and moderate corrosion resistance

Invar® for large-scale additive manufacturing (wire arc additive manufacturing or 3D printing)

invar®

Nickel-Iron for low coefficient thermal expansion applications

Nickel for large-scale additive manufacturing (wire arc additive manufacturing or 3D printing)

nickel alloys

A variety of nickel alloys for extreme temperature and corrosion environments

Nickel-aluminum-bronze for large-scale additive manufacturing (wire arc additive manufacturing or 3D printing)

nickel-aluminum-bronze

Nickel-Aluminum-Bronze alloys provide a combination of strength and resistance to wear and corrosion

Lincoln Electric Additive Solutions logo

Manufacturers specializing in parts made by these materials could benefit greatly from our additive service – which creates large-form metal part prototypes and replacements parts for you even faster.

This quick turnaround on prototypes and replacement parts will give you a competitive advantage over those using traditional manufacturing methods.

Lincoln Electric Additive Solutions logo

Manufacturers specializing in parts made by these materials could benefit greatly from our additive service – which creates large-form metal part prototypes and replacements parts for you even faster.

This quick turnaround on prototypes and replacement parts will give you a competitive advantage over those using traditional manufacturing methods.

aim higher.

Let's work together.

NOT YOUR TYPICAL ROBOTIC PROGRAMMING

CAD-TO-PATH PLANNING

With large format wire-based metal additive manufacturing, the part is manipulated while depositing. Advanced software is critical to address complex path planning and coordinated motion between the robot and the positioner.

Maintaining Optimal Layer Height and Part Dimensions

We have developed height sensing and adaptive feedback software to maintain tight customer-specified tolerances.

complex parts

Complex part printing can be achieved using advanced robots collaborating with positioners and motion control software.

FEEDSTOCK SELECTION

  • Solid and cored wire chemistry must be optimized for Metal Additive processes
  • Wire Placement – Critical for accurate parts
  • Extremely clean wire is essential
  • Bulk Packaging – Reduces changeovers during literally days of welding
  • Exotic Alloys? Select GMAW or Laser Hot-Wire processes to produce weldable, heat-treatable components
  • Traceability – Wire chemistry can be traced through every step of manufacturing to the heats of producer raw materials
  • Lincoln Electric has a long history of producing premium wires tailored to customer requirements that perform consistently from package to package

FEATURES

  • Overhangs, TKY configurations and any intersections can be addressed
  • Using these processes, 3D printing occurs without the need to create support structures

SURFACE FINISH

  • Decisions can be made during production planning regarding near-net print surface resolution, which can be varied to suit the application
  • There is a trade-off – As near-net part surface resolution is increased, printing runs at much slower speeds. As some finish machining will be required, it is often better to optimize print time and apply a final surface finish during post-process machining
CAD model made with proprietary software for large-scale metal additive manufacturing (wire arc additive manufacturing or 3D printing)

Full control over the wire path for each layer allows for optimal process parameters and material deposition.

accelerate your projects

Saving TIME is Your Biggest Advantage

Gain efficiency in your operations by letting Lincoln Electric Additive Solutions manufacture your long lead time parts.

Case Study Example

By additively manufacturing the facesheets for large aerospace composite mold tools, delivery times for completed tools can be shortened by up to several weeks – potentially reducing delivery times of entire tools by as much as 60 percent.

Lincoln Electric Additive Solutions facilities are capable of providing complete, finished tools, including:

  • Manufacturing
  • Machining
  • Tooling stands and other fabrication
  • Assembly
  • Final Prep
  • Testing to accredited standards

tooling

New tooling is often a bottleneck in getting new manufacturing operations up and running on time, particularly as engineers often need to accommodate last minute design changes. Additive manufacturing can eliminate the tooling bottleneck by significantly shortening the delivery lead time.

prototyping

Get functional, large-scale prototype parts in days to weeks, not weeks to months.

replacement parts

Large castings and forgings can easily take several months to receive. Explore whether Lincoln Electric Additive Solutions can shave your lead times by several weeks.

Aerospace Composite Tooling | Automotive Functional Prototypes | Heavy Fabrication Replacement Parts