NUBURU, an industry leader in high-power and high-brightness blue lasers for 3-D printing and industrial applications that is based in Centennial, Colorado (the USA), has been awarded an AFWERX Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II contract to develop a blue laser-based 3-D printing solution with area printing technology (AFWERX is the US Air Force’s ‘team of innovators’ who ‘encourage and facilitate connections across industry, academia and the military to create transformative opportunities and foster a culture of innovation’).
The goal of the one-year project is to ‘demonstrate improved speed and accuracy’ of a metal 3-D printer based on NUBURU’s blue laser technology — a new class of 3-D printers that aim to offer: micron-level resolution; increased part size and metal density; up to 100-times-greater build speed; as well as minimal to zero post-processing and part shrinkage.
Mark Zediker, NUBURU’s CEO and co-founder, said: “We are honoured to bring the power of blue laser technology and next-generation 3-D printing capabilities to the US military through this contract. By combining the absorption advantages of blue lasers with area printing technology — we aim to create larger scale 3-D printers that can offer up to 100-times the printing speed of an infra-red 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, NUBURU’s executive chairman, added: “We have already pioneered metal welding applications within batteries, e-mobility and consumer electronics, and are excited to continue expanding our capabilities into metal 3-D 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.”