Mazak Collaborates With ORNL to Develop Additive Manufacturing Platform
Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Mazak have partnered for the development of a convergent metal additive manufacturing platform that unifies metal additive manufacturing and high-precision machining within production-relevant workflows. Featuring two of Mazak’s VC-Ez 20X Vertical Machining Centers, the technology allows manufacturers to deliver high-mix, low-volume parts with shorter lead times while maintaining an effective strategy for low-mix, high-volume production capability.
“We will showcase this innovative platform during IMTS 2026 in the Association for Manufacturing Technology (AMT)’s Emerging Technology Center,” said Dan Janka, president of Mazak. “This system represents Mazak’s longstanding relationship with the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in terms of machining research and the advancement of hybrid additive manufacturing technology.”
This manufacturing platform combines a high-accuracy Mazak VC Ez-20X 5-axis machining center with a Fronius International Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) system designed to provide a flexible, high-volume and expandable solution into a single automated manufacturing framework.
The Fronius WAAM system provides a highly efficient, large-scale metal 3D printing capability that uses electric arcs and standard welding wire to deposit metal layer by layer.
The system is designed for emergent operations and performs both additive and subtractive part processing operations. Once parts are grown through the additive operations, they move to the standard full 5-axis VC-Ez 20X milling machine for finish machining of the workpiece.
