Lincoln Electric expands 3D printing for US Navy submarine programmes

Lincoln Electric - a longstanding supplier to US Navy shipbuilding - is scaling up its metal additive manufacturing operations under a new partnership with Electric Boat, the builder of Virginia-class and Columbia-class submarines.

Sponsored by the Navy’s Maritime Industrial Base Program, the initiative will see Lincoln manufacture critical submarine components using wire arc additive manufacturing at its Cleveland facility. The project is large enough to require four new large-scale printers, marking Lincoln’s biggest government-backed additive manufacturing investment to date.

“Material availability continues to drive construction delays across the submarine enterprise,” said Ken Jeanos, vice president of Supply Chain at General Dynamics Electric Boat. “3D-printed parts can help accelerate construction and delivery by cutting lead times for critical components.”

Lincoln has previously produced large printed parts - including 10-foot-wide propulsion components weighing up to 20 tonnes - under contract to Bechtel. The new deal reinforces additive manufacturing’s growing role in securing defence supply chains by reducing bottlenecks and increasing production agility.