SLM Solutions Group AG ("SLM Solutions", "SLM" or the "Company") is collaborating with Divergent, a global leader in economical mass production of complex structures in the automotive and defense industries company drives forward. Divergent Technologies' end-to-end digital production system for design, manufacturing and assembly, DAPS™, harnesses the power of additive manufacturing to unleash innovation in the automotive industry, making vehicles lighter, more energy efficient and less capital-intensive to produce. Divergent Technologies and SLM have been working together as development partners since 2017.
In recent years, the LPBF-based AM industry has shifted from research activities and single-part production to a serial production environment. In order to be able to adequately support this industry, SLM Solutions has defined a new type of Service Level Agreement (SLA), which is based on a guaranteed technical availability of the NXG XII 600 machines and the other machine portfolios from SLM.
Divergent Technologies and SLM Solutions have signed an availability based SLA covering all 6 NXG XII 600 plants and ensuring machine availability with a dedicated field service engineer on site. Kevin Czinger, Founder and CEO of Divergent Technologies, comments: "After years of intensive joint development that made serial production possible, we have now secured the production commitment for our NXG XII 600 fleet by signing this Service Level Agreement." Gerhard Bierleutgeb, Chief Operating Officer of SLM Solutions, emphasizes: "The NXG XII 600 is designed for series production of highly complex applications as well as for printing large parts. It is therefore of the utmost importance to offer our customers a comprehensive service, which allows them to use the machine according to their needs. There are no idle printers here."
The NXG XII 600 is a state-of-the-art system that is ideal for the industrial series production of complex components. It features twelve 1000-watt lasers and the industry's largest build volume of 600 x 600 x 600 mm³, enabling the production of large components that previously could not be manufactured.
The first manufacturing effort by Divergent Technologies will involve the production of thousands of complex, auto-assembled structures to be put on the road over the next two years. Following this, Divergent Technologies will expand its advanced facilities specifically designed for sustainable production with DAPS™, including "factory-less" vehicle manufacturing, which will begin with the fully homologated Czinger Vehicles 21C hypercar.
