Cincinnati Inc. and Oak Ridge National Lab advance large-part additive manufacturing

Cincinnati, OH - A partnership agreement between Cincinnati Incorporated and the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) will lead to the development of a new large-scale additive manufacturing system capable of printing polymer components up to 10 times larger than currently producible and at speeds 200 to 500 times faster than existing additive machines.

The cooperative research and development agreement aims to introduce significant new capabilities to the US machine tool sector, which supplies manufacturing technology to a wide range of industries including automotive, aerospace, appliance, and robotics. A prototype of the large-scale additive machine is in development using the chassis and drives of Cincinnati’s gantry-style laser cutting system as the base, with plans to incorporate a high-speed cutting tool, pellet feed mechanism, and control software for additional capability.

Cincinnati’s experience in designing, making and controlling large-scale manufacturing systems, as well as its long working relationship with ORNL, led to the partnership.

Cincinnati Incorporated says it was the first laser cutting system manufacturer to use high-speed linear-motor axis drives, developed in-house, with accelerations exceeding 2G and head positioning speeds of up to 10,000 in./min.

The partnership supports the Energy Department’s “Clean Energy Manufacturing” initiative to increase the efficiency of US manufacturing and continue the development of innovative technologies.

For more information on Cincinnati’s additive manufacturing initiative, contact [email protected]