 Specialist mechanical engineer Ponticon is building a plant  for additive manufacturing, which will allow the EHLA process developed by Fraunhofer ILT to be used for commercial series applications. The German acronym EHLA stands for ultra-high-speed  laser material deposition, and it is suitable for manufacturing 3-D metallic structures. The process allows feed rates of up to 15 m/s, while ensuring the high precision of the layers  applied. The metal powder is melted by the laser beam while still airborne and comes into contact with the weld pool  on the surface in liquid form. The 3-D EHLA plant, working at process speeds exceeding 3 m/s, is said to be able  to build up complete parts in  a very short time. According  to the manufacturer, feed  rates exceeding 15 m/s can  be achieved with rotating components. As well as producing and modifying individual parts, the plant can also be used to coat existing parts,  for example tool steel with bronze, aluminum with stainless steels and gray iron with tungsten alloys. © Fraunhofer ILT