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.

It marks the first time in Korea that KR has verified the safety and reliability of a process that uses additive manufacturing, commonly known as 3D printing, to repair damaged sections of metal structures. It also represents an important step in expanding the application of additive manufacturing beyond the production of new components to maintenance and repair.

Additive manufacturing has gained attention as a next-generation production technology for the aerospace, shipbuilding, offshore and defense sectors owing to its ability to produce complex parts quickly. However, its application in industrial settings has been held back by a lack of certification frameworks, high implementation costs and limited industrial demand.

The International Association of Classification Societies (IACS) took a major step toward addressing this gap last year, establishing Recommendation No. 186 ‘Additively Manufactured Metallic Parts for Marine and Offshore Applications’, which enables the safe application of additive manufacturing in the marine and offshore sector.

KR has since revised its own additive manufacturing guidelines and developed a certification framework spanning materials, processes, products and manufacturing methods. Crucially, the scheme covers not only newly manufactured parts but also the repair of existing metal structures, providing a foundation for the broader application of additive manufacturing in maintenance activities across the maritime and defense industries.

The certified manufacturing process employs LW-DED, in which a metal wire is melted by a laser and deposited layer by layer onto the damaged area. This allows only the damaged section to be restored rather than replacing or remanufacturing the entire part, cutting both repair time and costs. It could also prove useful for extending the service life of discontinued or hard-to-source components.

The certificate presentation ceremony was held on July 28 at AM Solutions’ additive manufacturing center in Daejeon, South Korea, and was attended by representatives from the Republic of Korea Navy, KR, the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology (KITECH), Daejeon Metropolitan City, Daejeon Technopark, and AM Solutions.

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

“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.”