Korean Register (KR) has awarded a manufacturing process certificate to AM Solutions, a South Korean 3D printing solutions company, for its laser wire directed energy deposition (LW-DED)-based additive manufacturing repair technology — the first such certification issued in Korea for using 3D printing to restore damaged metal structures.

The certification, presented on July 28 at AM Solutions' additive manufacturing center in Daejeon, South Korea, verifies the safety and reliability of a repair process that expands additive manufacturing beyond the production of new components into the maintenance and repair of existing metallic structures. Attendees included representatives from the Republic of Korea Navy, KR, the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology (KITECH), Daejeon Metropolitan City, Daejeon Technopark, and AM Solutions.

The certified process employs LW-DED technology, in which a metal wire is melted by a laser and deposited layer by layer onto a damaged area. This approach enables the restoration of only the affected section rather than replacing or remanufacturing an entire part, reducing both repair time and costs. It can also extend the service life of discontinued or difficult-to-source components — a significant consideration for military and maritime fleets that operate equipment over decades, where original manufacturers may no longer produce replacement parts.

South Korea is home to the world's largest shipbuilding industry by order volume, and the country is concurrently expanding its defense industrial base, including naval vessel construction. The participation of the Republic of Korea Navy at the certification event underscores the military maintenance dimension of the technology, where minimizing vessel and equipment downtime through on-demand repair carries operational value.

Additive manufacturing has attracted growing interest as a next-generation production technology across the aerospace, shipbuilding, offshore, and defense sectors due to its capacity to rapidly produce complex parts. However, industrial adoption has been constrained by the absence of certification frameworks, high implementation costs, and limited commercial demand.

The International Association of Classification Societies (IACS) addressed part of this gap last year by establishing Recommendation No. 186, "Additively Manufactured Metallic Parts for Marine and Offshore Applications," which provides a basis for safely applying additive manufacturing in marine and offshore environments.

Building on that foundation, KR has revised its own additive manufacturing guidelines and developed a comprehensive certification framework covering materials, processes, products, and manufacturing methods. Notably, the scheme extends beyond newly manufactured parts to encompass the repair of existing metal structures, creating a basis for wider use of additive manufacturing in maintenance operations across the maritime and defense industries.

Sangsoo Kim, Senior Vice President of KR's Naval Business Center, who led the certification project, stated:

"This certification marks an important step in expanding additive manufacturing repair technology beyond newly manufactured parts to existing metallic structures. We expect it to provide a new solution for maintaining and repairing high-value equipment and structures in the defense and shipbuilding sectors."

Source: Korean Register (KR), via Hellenic Shipping News