Lincoln Electric is working with the Maritime Industrial Base (MIB) program. Together with General Dynamics Electric Boat, the company will be using additive manufacturing to fabricate submarine components. This cooperation follows on from earlier ones with Velo3D and Nikon Advanced Manufacturing. The MIB program is tasked with speeding up America’s painfully slow production of subs, carriers, and other essential craft. Cost overruns, complexity, and lack of competition have caused the US to be unable to, for even a ludicrous price, make ships and boats quickly enough, even in peace time. Any war beyond a small conflict will see the country’s nuclear threat and naval power erode very quickly indeed. Additive manufacturing is seen as the technology to use to leapfrog in development and speed up when compared to casting and forging processes. Whereas aerospace players and government arms are mainly focussed on LPBF, the Navy needs a lot of very large parts, which makes DED an attractive process.
Lincoln already makes huge pressure vessels with the technology. That is one attractive application, and so are manifolds, valves, and propulsion components. Last year, Lincoln partnered with Bechtel Plant Machinery to make “large-scale propulsion components measuring almost 10 feet in diameter and weighing up to 20,000 pounds.” That was already a huge step for Lincoln, as Bechtel is the designer and maintenance partner for the US Nuclear Fleet, not to mention one of the most secretive and important contractors the US Navy has. Now, another step together with General Dynamics positions Lincoln to lead in the DED space.
Maritime Industrial Base Program Executive Director Matt Sermon said,
“The MIB Program is charged with strengthening and expanding the shipbuilding and repair capacity our nation needs for deterrence and warfighting. By investing in additive manufacturing at scale, we are helping ensure our industrial base has the tools, technologies, and resilience required to meet the Navy’s mission.”
Ken Jeanos, Vice President of Supply Chain, Materials and Logistics for General Dynamics Electric Boat, stated,
“Material availability continues to drive construction delays across the submarine enterprise. 3D-printed parts have the potential to accelerate construction and delivery of submarines to the U.S. Navy by cutting lead times for critical components. This Maritime Industrial Base investment is a pivotal step to further unlock AM capabilities, enabling the defense industry to address complex supply chain challenges with innovative, efficient solutions. This partnership expands the use of AM and other innovative technologies that Electric Boat’s engineering and procurement teams have been working on for several years.”
Lincoln Electric and General Dynamics previously qualified Lincoln’s SculptPrint additive manufacturing technology for use on submarines. Now, SculptPrint capacity will be given to MIB users. While with Nikon and Velo3D, just one machine was made available, in this case the capacity will be for four of the SculptPrint 1500 robotic arm DED systems. Lincoln has hereto focused on being a service, most of all working with energy companies, industrial firms, and government to make large-scale DED components. Lincoln uses Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM), and in this case, a system based on gas metal arc welding (GMAW) positioned on a 6-axis robot arm. WAAM was very interesting to a lot of companies before being largely abandoned because of issues with repeatability. However, Lincoln, one of the world’s main welding experts, stuck with the technology due to its high speed and low costs, coupled with large part sizes. This is paying off handsomely for the firm now.
Lincoln can print steels, stainless steels, Invar, Inconel, other nickel alloys, bronze, and CuNi 70/30, a material known for its capabilities in contact with water and highly sought after for maritime applications. For propulsion and hydraulics, additive can be an ideal partner. And for other less than ideal components, 3D printing can give the Navy the speed it lacks. The US is currently unnecessarily expensive and slow in shipbuilding for the Navy, with nothing but ruinous cost and slow pace of repairs and new shipbuilding. Roping in General Dynamics, therefore, is a bit like going on a run with the guy from Cinnabon. But, the US needs this to work. Of all the applications additive is being used for, this is one of the most essential, as our technology is now being trusted with making sure that the US can defend itself and its shores.