Albrecht R”ders GmbH & Co KG (Soltau, Germany) has commercialized a process called Controlled Metal Buildup (CMB).

The basic technology was originally developed at the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology – IPT (Aachen, Germany). Last year, the company sold three systems.
The process involves laser cladding and milling that results in 100 percent dense parts. CMB deposits the material from a steel wire and a 1-2 kW HDL laser welds the steel onto the surface of the work piece. A high-speed cutter flattens each layer before a new layer is deposited.