Additive Manufacturing (AM) except faster!

AM is a fascinating new technology which will revolutionize manufacturing by quickly printing metal parts. There are 3 pieces to the problem: programming, motion control and welding. Anyone acquainted with ARC Specialties knows those are our core competencies.

For AM to be viable on large parts we must speed up the process and create parts with equal or better material properties than forged, rolled or cast parts.

As an ARC Specialties research initiative we used the ARC6 robot and a Lincoln Electric welding power supply to build a 316 Stainless Steel 12" flange. We chose a 100 year old welding process: Submerged Arc Welding (SAW). Because SAW produces sound welds without smoke or arc light at 5 times the production rate as GMA additive.

After welding we machined the part on a mill rather than a lathe for testing purposes. Liquid penetrant inspection showed zero defects. We machined tensile test specimens in the radial and vertical orientation. Both exceeded ASME specifications for 316L.

This will be great for short lead times, exotic materials and large parts! Call me if you believe you have a application which would benefit from our technology.