Andrew Klein, one of Additive Innovations co-founders, presented Additive Innovations’ AM SiC capabilities at NASA’s Mirror Tech Days in Greenbelt, Md. Andrew highlighted the team’s capabilities to produce complex, lightweight mirrors using AM SiC to the audience of government and commercial optics experts. He also updated the group on Additive Innovations’ progress demonstrating free-form optics using AM SiC.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration has awarded Additive Innovations a SBIR Phase I award under its X-Ray Mirror Systems Technology topic to develop low-cost, free-form optics using silicon carbide additive manufacturing. Using Additive Innovations’ AM SiC product, the team will demonstrate the feasibility of using AM SiC as a substrate to produce complex free-form optics. At the end of the Phase I program, Additive Innovations will deliver 2 complex SiC optics for NASA’s evaluation.

As part of the US Navy’s request to develop deterministic precision machining of miniature optics in hard ceramics, Additive Innovations has been awarded a SBIR Phase I program to further optimize their AM SiC manufacturing process for high–precision, high-numerical aperture silicon carbide optics. Through this program, Additive Innovations will demonstrate the feasibility of using AM SiC for miniature optics in hard ceramic materials.

Additive Innovations successfully completed a SBIR Phase I program with the US Navy to develop lightweight silicon carbide mirrors using AM. The team successfully demonstrated the capability to use AM SiC for complex mirrors capable of being used for space and land based military applications.

As demand for Additive Innovations’ material and application development services has increased, Additive Innovations has added a second binder jet printer to its fleet. This increased capacity will be used to continue optimizing the AM SiC process while maintaining printers for other material development.

Additive Innovations has been awarded a SBIR Phase I contract through the United States Navy to develop silicon carbide mirrors for next generation microsatellites. Partnering with the University of Pittsburgh and using Additive Innovations’ silicon carbide AM process, the team will work with the US Navy to deliver lightweight, cost-effective silicon carbide substrates for mirrors for microsatellites.

On March 12, 2023, Additive Innovations took delivery of its first binder jet printer. The printer, originally manufactured by 3D Systems, will be used for material development and optimization. The first material going into the printer will be silicon carbide!

Additive Innovations opened its R&D facility in the Rockwell Park development in Pittsburgh’s Point Breeze neighborhood. With over 800,000 available square feet, Rockwell Park offers the team the ability to scale and grow manufacturing operations.