Meltio has been awarded the xTechInternational Advanced Manufacturing and Materials Award by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) for its patented metal 3D printing technology.
Meltio and its U.S. distributor, Phillips Corporation, were recognized by the U.S. Army xTechInternational Advanced Manufacturing and Materials Award. The forum gathers international companies and academic institutions, with over 300 technology firms participating worldwide.
This award gives the company recognition as a “strategic technology partner” in the current and future development plans of that country in the military and security field. This is reportedly the first time a Spanish company has received this award in additive manufacturing, which enhances logistical efficiency by enabling on-site printing and repair of parts. The award seeks to engage top global technology leaders in 3D printing to support the U.S. Department of Defense’s development programs. This year’s thematic area was Advanced Manufacturing and Materials.
Meltio aims to become a technological reference in 3D printing of metal by welding wire (known as DED, directed energy deposition for the creation of metal parts layer by layer by laser fused deposition). The company’s unique metal additive manufacturing technology is developed at its factory in Linares (Jaén), where it exports to more than 60 countries and employs more than a hundred professionals of 14 different nationalities.
Ángel Llavero López de Villalta, CEO of Meltio, stated, “The award we have received is a recognition to Meltio’s professionals and gives reliability to our technology. For us, the military sector is a sector that allows us to bring together all the applications of our disruptive metal 3D printing technology. And it is an opportunity for Meltio to develop a dual application for the civil and military sector.
“Our technology has the potential to transform different sectors thanks to metal additive manufacturing such as supply chains, logistics, repair and manufacturing of metal parts compared to other conventional techniques such as forging and machining. There are currently many armies in other countries that have Meltio’s metal additive manufacturing technology and we want to stand out as a strategic and technological partner for the military sector, also in Spain.”
The U.S. Department of Defense commented on the Meltio and Phillips Corporation’s system, “This is a technology with a very robust capability for fabrication and for near net shape part production. It offers a very valuable approach that uses standard welding wire that is already available in U.S. Department of Defense manufacturing environments; a coil of wire can be made into a near net shape for any part, thus avoiding the need for large stocks of shapes/forms/sizes of raw material.”
