Meltio showcases 2025 wire-based DED on industrial stages and expands its U.S. reference site

Meltio used 2025 to position metal 3D printing beyond the traditional AM community. The company from Linares, Spain, presented its wire-laser DED systems not only at additive manufacturing trade shows, but also at events with a strong focus on machining and production lines, including EMO Hannover and Formnext. The message: directed energy deposition with wire feed is meant to work as a shop-floor process for new parts and repairs without requiring users to overhaul their entire production setup.

In the process, a metal wire is fed into a laser melt pool and deposited track by track. Meltio refers to this as Wire-Laser Metal Deposition (W-LMD). This is attractive for maintenance and rework because material can be added locally—for example on worn edges or fitting surfaces—and the part is then finish-machined. At MilAM and Rapid+TCT, Meltio highlighted a maritime repair case: a critical reverse-osmosis pump was reportedly restored on board within 34 hours. The company also cited a weight optimization of ice cleats for the K2 Black Panther tank, where a honeycomb structure reduced the part from 10.74 to 4.26 kilograms.

“While stainless steel additive manufacturing onboard naval ships is new, it represents an advancement in providing sailors with industrial-level manufacturing capabilities to print individual parts for systems that previously have not been readily available.”

“Metal Additive Manufacturing is growing in demand among the global industrial sector,” said Lukas Hoppe, Head of R&D at Meltio. “It solves the needs of these customers to obtain parts and repair them, effectively and reliably, and guarantees them greater autonomy since Meltio’s equipment is installed directly in their workshops.”

To integrate into existing machine fleets, Meltio is pursuing hybrid concepts, such as embedding the “Engine Blue” in CNC environments. The blue laser is specified at 1.4 kW, according to the company, and is intended to stabilize processing of copper and aluminum materials through higher absorption in reflective metals. As key metrics, Meltio cites up to 30% lower energy consumption and significantly higher deposition rates compared with predecessors.

“The need for AM has never been greater and we understand those industrial customer needs and we are clear to demonstrate to them the clear advantages of integrating Meltio wire-laser metal 3D printing solutions into the manufacturing floor and the machine shops to lower costs, increase efficiency and overcome challenges such as supply chain stability”, explains Lukas Hoppe, Head of R&D at Meltio.

This primarily targets supply-chain risks and downtime, which can quickly become expensive for spare parts in defense, energy, and heavy industry.