# Printed 6,000-lb steel lever arm installed at the Soo Locks after an 18-month casting quote

Canonical page: https://technooptimist.io/stories/printed-6-000-lb-steel-lever-arm-installed-at-the-soo-locks-after-an-18-dd740f81
Date: 1 Mar 2024
About: [Lincoln Electric](https://technooptimist.io/companies/lincoln-electric.md) · [SculptPrint large-format wire-arc printing](https://technooptimist.io/manufacturing/sculptprint-waam.md)
Original source: https://3dprint.com/324351/when-castings-take-18-months-how-3d-printing-helped-fix-the-soo-locks/amp/

A cracked 12-foot lever arm on the Soo Locks' ship arrestor was replaced with a wire-arc printed part in high-strength low-alloy steel. It was printed in two sections of about 4,000 and 2,000 pounds, welded and machined at Baker Industries, in roughly three months against an 18-month casting quote.

## Key facts

- Billed as the largest US civil-works component made by 3D printing.
- Lincoln says lead times can fall by up to about 80% versus casting.
- Closing the locks for six months was projected to cost about $1B in lost GDP.

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