Listen to this articleBelow is our recent interview with Sean Schaefer, Marketing Manager at Baker Industries, a Lincoln Electric Company:
Q: Could you provide our readers with a brief introduction to your company?
A: Baker Industries, a Lincoln Electric Company, is part of Lincoln’s $600M automation and additive business. Baker is based in Macomb Michigan and provides tooling, fly parts, prototypes, CNC machining, fabrication, additive manufacturing, and more to OEM and Tier-1 manufacturers in the world’s most demanding industries, such as aerospace and defense, automotive and transportation, energy and power generation, heavy equipment, oil and gas, and space. The Baker team supports Lincoln Electric’s additive manufacturing business who provides a proprietary large-scale 3D metal printing service of large parts that range over 7-feet in length and over 8,000 pounds.
Q: Any highlights on your recent announcement?
A: Baker Industries and Lincoln Electric Additive Solutions recently announced a collaboration with General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI), a prime US defense contractor, on a research and development study exploring the feasibility of Lincoln Electric’s proprietary 3D metal printing technology for producing steel and Invar® tooling used in GA-ASI’s unmanned aerial system (UAS) manufacturing operations.
GA-ASI sought a solution for complex tooling that was repeatable, accurate, vacuum-tight, and rigid enough to withstand the stress and fatigue caused by repetitive autoclave cycles. After a collaborative review of several tool geometries and requirements, the companies’ engineering teams determined that Lincoln Electric’s 3D metal printing technology could be the right solution. While still in the process of qualification at GA-ASI, the process has demonstrated preliminary success. GA-ASI has seen savings ranging between 30-40% in cost and about 20-30% in lead time using the technology in place of traditional manufacturing processes for specific tool families and geometries. Additionally, the first tool produced has passed GA-ASI’s initial assessments, is vacuum-tight, has a uniform thermal survey, and exceeds target GD&T requirements.
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Q: Can you give us more insights into your offering?
A: Coupled with Baker’s robust post-processing, fabrication, and inspection capabilities, Lincoln Electric’s ability to quickly produce large, complex components from a variety of alloys presents a comprehensive solution and several advantages for a wide range of high-mix, low-volume applications. The disruptive technology significantly reduces manufacturing lead times, shortens supply chains, and enables design enhancements that exceed traditional fabrication capabilities.
Lincoln Electric’s large-scale robotic additive manufacturing, or 3D metal printing, technology is 100% vertically-integrated. Lincoln Electric makes everything from the wire feedstock to the robotic systems and proprietary SculptPrint™ OS additive software. It is capable of single builds over 7-feet (2.1 meters) in length and weighing more than 8,000 pounds (3,630 kilograms), which can be welded together for unlimited part sizes. Eighteen systems are currently operating 24/7 at its 75,000-square-foot facility in Euclid, Ohio, North America’s largest 3D metal printing factory for large parts. The company is prepared to add more machines based on customer demand. Alloys currently able to be 3D metal printed include carbon steels, low-carbon steel, stainless steels, nickel alloys (Inconel®), and Invar®.
Q: What can we expect from your company in the next 6 months? What are your plans?
Lincoln Electric Additive Solutions will continue to expand its alloy offering and qualify alloys to Code Case 3020 of Section IX within the ASME Boiler & Pressure Vessel Code (BPVC).
Recommended: Q: What is the best thing about your company that people might not know about?
A: Lincoln Electric’s ability to rapidly turn around production of large 3D metal printed parts is unparalleled. Lead times compared to traditional manufacturing can shrink from several months to only weeks due to its use of proprietary SculptPrint™ OS additive software, team of experienced additive engineers, 24/7 production staff, and industry leading systems and wire feedstock capacity. Case in point is Lincoln Electric’s support of a Chevron refinery in which it delivered eight large nickel parts in 30 days, substantially faster delivery than traditional manufacturing.
