3DFactory and UNIST win KRW 11B for first 5m WAAM ship-propeller demonstration

3DFactory and UNIST have been selected for South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy shipbuilding technology programme to demonstrate a 5m-class ship propeller made by metal additive manufacturing. The KRW 11 billion project, including KRW 8.5 billion in national funding, spans physical production through classification-society certification. They will use wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM), depositing metal wire with an electric arc instead of the sand-casting route normally used for large propellers. UNIST will supply additive-specific blade design and AI-based reverse-deformation compensation, using heat-distortion data to predict and correct shape error during deposition.

At this scale, the important test is not whether WAAM can deposit metal, but whether its near-net-shape output can be controlled consistently enough for final machining and marine certification. The programme removes the need for a dedicated mold and focuses on the curved blade geometry that makes thermal distortion a commercial, not merely laboratory, problem. Digital design files could make the approach useful for discontinued components and urgent orders, particularly in ship maintenance, repair and overhaul. 3DFactory and UNIST also presented the technology to US Navy officials at a US-Korea joint R&D exchange forum in Washington, DC, in July, tying the effort to potential US naval MRO demand.

Newly, KRW 11 billion is now committed to take a 5m WAAM propeller through both fabrication and class certification, moving the next decision point to acceptance of a certified, machined marine component rather than a printed demonstrator. AM Pulse's patent linkage associates zero active records with 3DFactory, though its name-matched, review-gated coverage can miss subsidiaries and transliterated applicants; delivery and certification therefore matter more than that count when judging the company.