MELD PrintWorks to Open Large-Scale Metal Additive Manufacturing Plant in Virginia: Production to Begin in 2027, Focused on Large Aluminum, Titanium, and Copper Parts

On October 18, MELD PrintWorks announced the construction of a dedicated additive manufacturing facility at Falling Branch Corporate Park in Christiansburg, Virginia. The 1,115-square-meter plant is expected to be operational in 2027. The new facility is custom-designed for large-scale production of large metal components and will house equipment lines for solid-state additive manufacturing (AFSD, additive friction stir deposition), targeting high-throughput batch production of large aluminum alloy, titanium alloy, and copper alloy parts. The MELD process deposits metal in a solid state without melting the alloy, producing parts with forged-level properties and no porosity or cracking. CEO Nanci Hardwick stated that the new facility will support larger MELD metal printers to produce larger components; President Larry Vicari said the company will use it to expand capacity, upgrade its quality control framework, and shorten lead times. MELD PrintWorks is a service company spun off from MELD Manufacturing in 2023; the parent company previously delivered the world's largest metal 3D printer for the U.S. Army's Jointless Hull project. Amid global supply chain constraints, lead times for traditional forgings and castings are limited, and aerospace, defense, automotive, and shipbuilding customers are accelerating their shift to solid-state additive manufacturing. This plant is a clear signal of expanding U.S. domestic capacity for large metal parts. Value for powder buyers: (1) The solid-state deposition route does not rely on spherical metal powders, creating a long-term substitution effect on demand for atomized powder in large structural parts; the boundary between applications of solid-state AM and powder bed routes should be monitored. (2) Small- and medium-sized powder bed applications remain unaffected, and titanium alloy powder remains the mainstay in the aerospace structural parts market. (3) Expanding U.S. domestic capacity for large metal parts signals "large forging substitution," with upstream metal raw material supply opportunities emerging ahead of powder.