General Electric announced at the Paris Air Show that it will begin construction of the world’s largest laser-based powder bed metal 3D printer in its ATLAS project. The printer will out-size the Xline 2000R from Concept Laser, a company the GE acquired last year, with a build volume of 1 cubic meter.
The printer will increase the company’s footprint in producing final aerospace parts through additive manufacturing. It will be capable of printing full components for jet engines used in single-aisle aircraft, as well as applications in automotive, power, and oil and gas industries.
The company will further divulge its progress on building the printer at the formnext show later this year. It expects to finish it by the end of 2018 using in-house laser expertise from Concept Laser and monitoring technology under development. Customers expect to receive beta versions in 2018.