The Future of Productivity: Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing

In December 2020 Naval Group (France) successfully tested under real conditions, the biggest propeller ever built using Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing technology, also known as 3D printing.

This 2,5 m wide propeller, supported by five 200 kg blades, is the result of three years of intensive R&D work achieving naval military standard. The five blades were entirely printed using Böhler 3Dprint AM Cu 6328, a copper alloy wire that offers high resistance to corrosion, fatigue and mechanical impact beside good mechanical properties and the perfect “printing” behaviour.

Results achieved are amazing in terms of both material properties and integrity - superior to conventional casting technology. Additional benefits are an increased flexibility in design and a reduced manufacturing time. The propeller was certified by Bureau Veritas, a world leader in testing, inspection and certifications, after passing several series of tests and is now installed on an operational minesweeper.

Martin Peruzzi, CTO voestalpine Böhler Welding, commented: "Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing reached industrial maturity level as our joint project and efforts with Naval Group has now successfully demonstrated. Our dedicated wire product portfolio for this technology is continuously further optimized to meet the requirements of this process, which are significantly different to conventional joint welding. New metallurgical alloying concepts and focus on surface properties are the key for successful applications in this new exciting technology”.

Read more about BÖHLER 3Dprint AM Cu 6328 in our success story here.

Find all technical details, product features, customer & process benefits right here: