March 2017 (PresseBox) – SLM Solutions Group AG, a leading supplier of metal-based additive manufacturing technology, has deepened the existing cooperation with its US customer Divergent 3D via a cooperation agreement in mid-March. Central to the agreement is the development of scalable hardware and software solutions for a cost efficient and more sustainable production of structural components in vehicle construction. An order of three additional multi laser machines is also included.

The proprietary manufacturing platform of Divergent 3D enables the additive manufacturing of complex build parts for the automotive industry. At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January 2017 a fully functional, US highway-registered supercar was exhibited – the advantages of additive manufacturing, such as light construction, freedom of design and resource-saving, were recognized beyond the scope of experts. Divergent 3D has been working with the metal-based additive manufacturing machines of SLM Solutions for a long time, and recently ordered three additional multi-laser machines (two SLM 500 machines and one SLM 280 machine).

In a Series A financing round closed in 2016, Divergent 3D was able to raise USD 23 million in venture capital, inter alia from Horizons Venture, to further implement the expansion strategy. The agreed-upon long-term cooperation with SLM Solutions is intended to scale the company’s solutions up to mass production. "We are very impressed by the progress at Divergent 3D", Hans J. Ihde, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of SLM Solutions Group AG, states, "The automotive sector is undergoing a transitioning phase and additive manufacturing plays a key role in it, due to the new freedom of design. Together with Divergent 3D, we want to achieve a vehicle construction that is more sustainable, more flexible and cheaper."

The aim of the cooperation is to jointly develop hardware and software solutions that can be used in industrial mass production and further reduce time-to-market. An increasing number of customers from the automotive industry are already using the innovative solutions from Divergent 3D; e.g., there is already cooperation with PSA Group (manufacturer of the "Peugeot" and "Citroën" brands).

Uwe Bögershausen, member of the Management Board of SLM Solutions Group AG, adds: "We want to continue to grow on a broad basis, but we see a strong dynamic in the automotive industry, which we want to actively shape. The new cooperation with Divergent 3D is a further step on the path to an integrated solution provider."