The French Navy is the third armed force to validate Meltio’s technology

Meltio has consolidated its unique metal additive manufacturing technology in the defense sector. The Spanish multinational based in Linares (Jaén) has passed different technological tests on its hardware, metallic materials and software worldwide. Meltio has become a strategic and reliable partner, meeting the high demands of different armies around the world with its disruptive 3D printing technology.

In addition to these milestones, Sicnova, Meltio’s distributor in Spain, signed a contract with the Spanish Ministry of Defense at the end of 2023 to introduce additive manufacturing in the three Spanish armies for the next four years.

Currently, armies in other countries are validating Meltio’s unique additive manufacturing technology. This interest from the defense sector is also opening the door to companies in the aerospace sector that are already validating the Spanish multinational’s technology.

Meltio assists the French aircraft carrier, Charles de Gaulle

The French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle has been experimentally using a metal 3D printing solution provided by Meltio. In May 2024, as part of the “Ursa Minor” exercise – a high-intensity operational maintenance naval exercise organized by the Fleet Support Service (FSS) – a special breakdown repair experiment was carried out in the workshops of the Navy’s logistics department in Toulon. Meltio’s technological solution is installed on shore at the Toulon arsenal and is receiving requests for the manufacture and repair of metal parts from the aircraft carrier.

Meltio’s 3D printer works with various types of materials, including stainless steel, titanium, inconel, mild steel and tool steel.

3D printing technology experimentation exercise enables the supply and repair of fully dense parts for various industrial applications. These parts are manufactured at a low production cost per cubic centimeter. In addition, the speed of execution and efficiency are such that production is more competitive than with traditional manufacturing methods,” stresses the French Navy.

Another aspect of the technological challenge faced by the French engineering team was that the part to be manufactured had to be made of metal, a first for the department, which had never used this manufacturing process before. Meltio’s technology works by Direct Energy Deposition (DED), i.e. the stacking of welding wires on top of each other, in the form of wire introduced into a molten bath generated by a laser. It is based on digital modeling of the replacement, which is an essential prerequisite for production.

The use of metal 3D printing makes it possible to supply fully dense parts for various industrial applications. These parts are manufactured at a low production cost per cubic centimeter. Moreover, the speed of execution and efficiency are such that production is more competitive than with traditional manufacturing methods, such as boilermaking, forging and others.

Jean-Marc Quenez, director of innovation at the French Ministry of Defense’s Fleet Support Service (SSF), says of the Meltio experience:

“We are at an initial point of use of the Meltio M450 for the Marine Nationale. Its state of use is experimental. The French Navy uses the Meltio M450 on land. The machine is installed at our naval base, located in the city of Toulon. After months of previous testing at our technology center in Toulouse (DGA/Techniques Aéronautiques), South of France, to test Meltio’s DED wire-laser technology, the printer was approved for transfer to Toulon. The main objective of this transfer is to test this machine for the needs of the Marine ships that are sailing with their repair and manufacturing needs in different metallic materials, mainly stainless steels and inconel, for which the Meltio M450 seems efficient in the result of the parts obtained”.

JM Quenez continues: “Last May 2024, we carried out the Ursa Minor 2024 offshore exercise, in which the French Navy Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier simulated a request to us to repair metal parts. We produced the metal parts with les Meltio450 onshore and send the parts to the aircraft-carrier. The exercise was a success. We plan to carry out more exercises of this type in the coming months and, in the future, the French Navy is considering the possibility of incorporating a 3D metal printer on board to be tested on board.

We have chosen the Meltio M450 for this first step in metal 3D printing because it allows us to repair easily existing metal parts and with this machine we produce test parts with DED technology, not final parts, which we then post-process and machine according to our needs. The Meltio M450 meets our expectations for reliability and is very easy for our engineers to use. We anticipate this metal 3D printer to remain functional and be part of our pilot program for additive manufacturing use.“

Since its foundation in 2019, Meltio has achieved relevant projects in Defense, consolidating and strengthening its technology and positioning itself as a strategic business partner for the manufacture and repair of metal parts in different industrial sectors, among which the defense sector stands out. Its technology is based on the patent of a 3D printing head capable of melting various metallic materials using lasers and the welding wire technique.

Other Meltio milestones in defense

Meltio solution aboard the US Navy ship USS Bataan.

Meltio together with its U.S. distributor Phillips Corporation – a global leader in U.S.-based manufacturing solutions – have collaborated to install for the first time on a US Navy ship a metal 3D printing solution for onboard manufacturing of spare parts and repairs. The Phillips Additive Hybrid powered by Haas took Meltio’s laser metal deposition technology and integrated it with the world-renowned Haas CNC vertical machining center control milling machine aboard the USS Bataan. The equipment, installed as part of a joint effort between the Commander, Naval Surface Force Atlantic and the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) Technology Office, includes the Phillips Additive Hybrid system, which integrates a Meltio wire laser metal deposition head on a Haas TM-1 computer numerical control milling machine.

The first 3D printed part with Meltio solution aboard USS Bataan

Another milestone in the United States is the first part printed on board the US Navy’s USS Bataan, demonstrating the successful results of the Meltio hybrid system installed aboard this warship, in this case on a computerized machine or CNC milling machine. The ability to obtain spare parts at sea is a challenge, especially considering that space is at a premium and many decades-old parts are nearly obsolete.

The U.S. Navy ship USS Bataan is addressing the problem by being the first to deploy a hybrid manufacturing system that includes the Meltio head on a milling machine and provides sailors with industrial-grade manufacturing capabilities.

Meltio’s solution enabled a replacement 3D metal plate for a ballast air compressor (DBAC) to be manufactured in just 5 days, rather than potentially taking weeks to supply through conventional Navy supply channels.

The part is used to force pressurized air through saltwater tanks and discharge accumulated saltwater. The tanks are filled to reduce the ship’s draft in amphibious operations. Fabrication of the metal sprayer plate offshore allowed the ship to reduce the time required to obtain a spare assembly.

Meltio, technology awarded by Xtech and the U.S. Department of Defense.

Meltio’s success aboard the USS Bataan enabled the Spanish brand to achieve technological confidence and accreditation in the United States. Thus, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has awarded Meltio’s technology with XtechInternational, which means recognition as a “strategic technology partner” in the current and future development plans of that country in the military and security field. This is the first time that a Spanish company has received this award in the field of additive manufacturing.

Milestone of Sicnova, Meltio distributor, with the Spanish Ministry of Defense

Soluciones Sicnova, distributor in Spain of Meltio’s solutions, has signed an agreement with the Ministry of Defense to implement in four years “joint actions for the development and implementation of a digitalization strategy to simplify the manufacture of parts and spare parts in their supply chains”.

Defense aims to improve the supply and logistics chains of the Armed Forces, increase the operability of fleets, resources in operations and avoid problems related to the obsolescence of parts and pieces, as well as increase their useful life through a strategy of design and additive manufacturing that allows the development and manufacture of parts, spare parts and tooling.

About Meltio
Meltio takes metal additive manufacturing to the next level by developing and manufacturing high-performance, affordable and easy-to-use metal 3D printing solutions using wire laser metal deposition (LMD) technology. The company’s mission is to delight customers, partners and employees by pioneering the development of affordable metal 3D printing systems that are reliable, safe and powerful, continually reinforcing its status as a disruptor. Meltio is revolutionizing the way metal parts are manufactured and repaired by achieving highly reliable results and extraordinarily dense parts with our additive manufacturing technology.

Industries such as automotive, aerospace, oil and gas, mining, research centers, universities and others in more than 60 countries already enjoy Meltio’s solutions. Meltio, based in Linares (Spain), develops and manufactures high quality, disruptive products for high profile industrial end-customers and R&D organizations such as universities and research-oriented companies. The current portfolio of metal solutions includes the new Meltio M600 metal 3D printer introduced globally in March 2024, the Meltio M450 metal 3D printer, the Meltio Engine CNC integration, which turns virtually any CNC machine into a powerful hybrid manufacturing center, and the Meltio Engine robotic integration, which is the perfect platform for large and complex 3D printing, repair, coating and feature addition.

Another industrial solution offered by the Spanish multinational is the Meltio Robot Cell, an enclosed and safe robotic cell that includes a standard ABB robotic arm to 3D print larger and higher volume metal parts in different metal materials.