20-Meter Metal 3D Printer! Beijing Institute of Technology Achieves Ultra-Large Lattice Structure Additive Manufacturing for Marine Equipment

The Cross-Scale Additive Manufacturing Team at Beijing Institute of Technology has successfully developed a metal 3D printer with a build volume reaching an impressive 20 meters. This advanced system employs 40 parallel arc energy beams for wire-fed additive manufacturing, enabling the fabrication of ultra-large lattice structures.  

Seventy percent of our planet is covered by oceans, making maritime affairs crucial to national survival and development. The strength and security of a nation are deeply intertwined with its maritime capabilities. As part of China's strategic initiative to build a strong maritime nation, the development of marine equipment is paramount. This sector encompasses a wide range of applications, including naval vessels, submersibles, offshore wind power, aquaculture, and floating oil and gas platforms.  

In the modern era, marine transport equipment, such as ships and submersibles, must meet increasing demands for lightweight construction while also enhancing explosion resistance, collision protection, vibration damping, and noise reduction. Meanwhile, the traditional steel structures used in offshore floating platforms come with exorbitant manufacturing costs—offshore floating wind power, for instance, is more than ten times as costly as onshore wind development. There is an urgent need for new, cost-effective, and high-performance fabrication methods for floating platforms.  

Additive manufacturing presents a transformative opportunity for structural innovation in marine equipment. The Cross-Scale Additive Manufacturing Team at Beijing Institute of Technology has made remarkable advancements in large-scale lattice structure printing, overcoming the technical challenge of support-free 3D printing for suspended structures. The team has pioneered a new method for fabricating large-scale metal lattice structures and developed multi-beam parallel wire-fed additive manufacturing technology. Their independently designed series of parallel additive manufacturing systems has led to a significant leap in the efficiency of lattice structure production, establishing a comprehensive framework for ultra-large metal lattice structure manufacturing.  

Among these innovations, large-scale metal lattice sandwich panels offer weight reductions of over 30% compared to traditional structures, while also providing superior vibration damping, noise reduction, explosion resistance, and protective properties. These panels are well-suited for use in marine transport equipment, such as ships and submersibles, and have already undergone validation in multiple application domains. Furthermore, the team has developed a cost-effective steel plate-lattice concrete composite structure, in which low-cost concrete is used as a filler within a steel lattice sandwich framework. This novel construction material offers a significant reduction in steel usage compared to fully steel-based offshore floating platforms, cutting costs by over 50% while maintaining economic viability, structural stability, and long service life. The technology holds immense potential for applications in offshore floating wind power, deep-sea aquaculture, and floating marine airports.  

By the end of 2025, the team aims to launch a 50-meter-scale additively manufactured floating platform, demonstrating the feasibility of modular construction and its suitability for marine environments. Looking ahead, they plan to establish the world's first kilometer-scale floating marine platform in the Bohai Sea, intended for integrated marine resource development.  

To further enhance the efficiency of lattice structure manufacturing, Beijing Institute of Technology has recently developed a 40-arc parallel additive manufacturing system, capable of printing structures up to 20 meters in size. This breakthrough marks the largest metal 3D printer ever reported in China by public media. The innovation has garnered widespread coverage from major domestic news outlets, including **People’s Daily, China Central Television (CCTV), and China News Service**.  

Links to Media Coverage:  

- People’s Daily: China’s Largest Metal 3D Printing Facility Unveiled in Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area  

- CCTV: Tides of Tianjin: Coordinated Development in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region  

- China News Service: China’s Largest Metal 3D Printing Equipment Established in Tianjin