In particular, the company has made impressive strides in 3D printing technology, especially in the marine sector.
"The business has progressed nicely and the market continues to grow rapidly as more customers, particularly in maritime defense, realize the benefits afforded by 3D metal printing and that the technology is manufacturing ready now," says Mark Douglass, Business Development Manager. "It's not a research project but fully capable of providing high-quality parts for challenging applications."
Applications have expanded on the margin as more companies explore 3D printing, but Douglass thinks the market growth in the near term is driven by companies adopting the technology for the many applications that have already been identified: "We believe the market is still in the early adoption stage and there's still significant 'evangelism' that needs to take place."
Lincoln is making strides with a number of marine customers in getting 3D printed parts approved for use, which, as more companies see it successfully used, provides greater confidence within the industry to adopt its use. "We think it will continue to snowball," Douglass states.
The main value proposition in the 3D printing of parts such as pump casings and valve bodies is a substantial saving in delivery times – as much as 80 percent compared to castings and forgings. Douglass says this is an important consideration in both replacement parts and new construction, particularly with the U.S. Navy, which has been touting the importance of improved scheduling via 3D printing.
"There are case studies with customers in which the 3D printed parts had substantially higher quality than castings of the same parts," Douglass adds. "So not only does 3D printing have the potential to drastically reduce initial lead time, it can also reduce – or even eliminate – downstream repair costs because of improved first time quality."
Recently, Lincoln Electric was awarded the Technical Achievement Award for 3D Printing Innovation by the Defense Strategies Institute in Washington, D.C. Lincoln and its partners were recognized for their use of large- scale 3D metal printing technology in lieu of casting to produce a replacement part for a ship arrestor system at the Poe Lock, a vital part of one of the nation's most important shipping routes. Poe Lock is part of the Soo Locks in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan.
96 | ISSUE 113 | SEP 2025 | THE REPORT
In response to the urgent need, the U.S. Army's Corps of Engineers and Engineer Research & Development Center partnered with Lincoln to produce a replacement part using the company's 3D metal printing technology. Lincoln produced the steel lever arm in three months, an 84 percent reduction in lead time. It's the largest U.S. civil works component ever produced with 3D printing.
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