Nuburu awarded SBIR contract by US Air Force for its blue laser AM technology
August 25, 2022
Nuburu, Centennial, Colorado, USA, has been awarded an SBIR Phase II contract by the US Air Force to further develop its blue laser based Additive Manufacturing machine. This new class of Additive Manufacturing machines will aim to offer micron level resolution, increased part size and metal density, up to 100x build speed with minimal to zero post-processing and part shrinkage. The goal of the one-year project is to demonstrate improved speed and accuracy in the machine.
“We are honoured to bring the power of blue laser technology and next-generation 3D printing capabilities to the United States military through this contract,” stated Mark Zediker PhD, CEO and co-founder of Nuburu. “By combining the absorption advantages of blue lasers with area printing technology, we aim to create larger scale 3D printers that can offer up to 100x the printing speed of an infrared laser-based printer with full metal density. If we are successful, this could allow the military to build replacement parts for older aircraft that have been obsoleted by the original suppliers and can otherwise take months to procure. This would greatly diminish the time required to build and replace critical components and would allow aircraft to return to operational readiness more quickly.”
Ron Nicol, executive chairman of Nuburu, added, “Nuburu has already pioneered metal welding applications within batteries, e-mobility and consumer electronics, and we are excited to continue expanding our capabilities into metal 3D printing, all with the same powerful blue laser technology. This project will help to bring area printing, with its high throughput capabilities and cost advantages, to key markets such as aerospace, automotive and more.”
The company announced a partnership with Essentium in May 2022 to develop a blue laser-based metal Additive Manufacturing platform.
