The announcement was made at the Department of Energy’s Advanced Manufacturing InnovationXLab Summit.
The new agreement builds upon ORNL and Lincoln Electric’s previous developments by extending additive technology to new materials, leveraging data analytics and enabling rapid manufacture of metal components in excess of 100 pounds per hour.
The developments will focus on increasing throughput while lowering costs and improving the quality of large-scale additively manufactured metallic structures essential for multiple industrial applications.
Source: Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc
“Working with Lincoln Electric is an important step in advancing manufacturing in the US,” said Moe Khaleel, ORNL Associate Laboratory Director for Energy and Environmental Science.
“Approximately 60-80% of moulds for the manufacturing of metallic components are produced overseas. With this new collaboration, US manufacturers will be able to showcase their ability to manufacture tools, die and mould additively with reduced costs and lead times while maintaining speed and a quality build.”
“We have successfully partnered with the Manufacturing Demonstration Team at ORNL over the last three years to develop industry-leading metal additive technologies,” said Tom Matthews, Senior Vice-President for Technology and R&D, Lincoln Electric.
“Together, we will continue to advance the technical boundaries of additive manufacturing as Lincoln electric commercialises this innovative manufacturing capability, which will benefit a broad array of manufacturing sectors.”