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One of the primary challenges with 3-D printing, a.k.a. additive manufacturing (AM) is the lack of existing materials science for its finished metal products. While legacy manufacturing techniques have decades, or even centuries, of scientific study into all the physical characteristics of what they produce, the new forming methods of AM have at best very incomplete data. We may know the specifications of the raw materials used, but we still have limited knowledge of how those materials are changed through the AM processes.
Until recently AM was used primarily for prototyping, where concerns about this reality were very limited. With AM now being used more and more for finished metal parts, a complete understanding of the characteristics of the finished products is needed more than ever, particularly for critical applications in areas like aerospace and defense. But that deficiency in the ability to know exactly how the finished product will behave, and ensure that parts are produced consistently with AM, has limited the technology’s adoption. Sigma Labs Inc. (NASDAQ: SGLB) is out to change that by providing a “shortcut” to getting the materials knowledge needed, at least as far as metal AM is concerned. They do that by using artificial intelligence (AI) to predict flaws in the meltpool during production. “We provide quality assurance in-process, rather than post-process,” said Mark Ruport, Sigma’s Executive Chairman. “Think of it as akin to a CT scan of the part while it’s being made.”
The startup’s entire history thus far has been about development and testing of its technology. But its executives say that yesterday’s announcement that Sigma has established a joint sales agreement with Materialise NV (NASDAQ: MTLS), a leading provider of additive manufacturing software and of sophisticated 3D printing services, marks the company’s move into true commercialization. The agreement formalized the integration of Sigma’s PrintRite3D software with the Materialise Control Platform product into a complete metal AM production control solution. “We’re coming out of a long stretch of testing and validation,” said John Rice, Sigma’s President and CEO. “We’ve said that 2020 is the year when we finally take advantage of all that, and this announcement is a reflection of that.”
Sigma went public in 2010. “We were founded out of Los Alamos [National Laboratory] by scientists, physicists, and welding engineers,” Rice said. The company has a current market valuation of $8.7 million. Like many tech startups, its stock price skyrocketed post-IPA, then saw a long, steady decline as behind-the-scenes testing and validation meant few shiny updates for the market. Just last week Sigma announced a one-for-ten reverse stock split to raise its share price above the NASDAQ $1 per share minimum. Executives are confident that yesterday’s announcement, along with recent announcements of the adoption of PrintRite3D by Northwestern University and the Mississippi State University Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems, will help show investors that the company is coming out of its testing stage into the production world.
Their technology is much-needed. I’ve heard again and again in interviews with those at the forefront of AM, including Ely Sachs, one of the founders of metal 3-D printing, that the lack of established materials science was a chief challenge. “We had one end user who told us he’s experiencing hyper growth, but he can’t keep up with the qualification process for new parts,” Ruport said. Sigma’s in-process monitoring and validation is aimed at doing away with that process.
“Our technology helps bridge the gap for the new technologies,” added Rice. “We ensure the finished part has the same end quality as previous ones made with established forming methods. People need to know the micro-structure of the metal is good, and that’s what we provide. Over time, we can determine the signature of metal structural flows, monitoring for things like proper sintering and warpage. That makes it much easier for a manufacturer to make the move to AM.”
“During the build process, we help to monitor the part as it’s being made,” continued Ruport. “We can look for anomalies in real time, then with new builds we can predict anomalies. As we do that, we build a knowledge base that can then be shared across the industry. People can be very protective of intellectual property, but in this case there’s broad agreement of the need for a shared knowledge base. The promise of the technology drives people wanting to move faster and do things better.”
In the end, Sigma is aiming to establish a needed set of quality-monitoring and materials qualification standards. “Our technology is real-time metallurgy,” said Rice. “We think it can become a common standard, a Rosetta Stone for the industry.” Sigma is working with standards organizations such as the National Institute for Standards and Technologies (NIST), the International Organization for Standards (ISO), and ASTM International, to help with the development and propagation of the new standards.
“End users want a common way to qualify products,” Ruport said. “We believe we have a first-mover advantage here, and the additional advantage of patented technology. That establishes us as the leader.”
That advantage should allow them to ride an increasing production wave in the AM world. “Distribution has been disrupted by Amazon, and similarly AM will disrupt the manufacturing world,” Rice said. “Parts that have been locked down on design for decades can now be altered and improved. And rather than producing centrally and shipping, designs can be transmitted anywhere and parts can be made locally.”
“It’s on the way – this revolution is accelerating,” added Ruport. “It’s breaking down the barriers, the last 10% of the challenges to making parts in a new way.”
“The origins of AM were in plastic, going back to the 1980s,” said Rice. “Metal is growing fastest now – plants with tens of printers will soon have hundreds. And it offers the most benefit to society.”
