Elmet deploys 3D Systems printer to produce hypersonic parts
Elmet Technologies, a defence materials specialist and subsidiary of Nasdaq-listed The Elmet Group, is deploying 3D Systems' DMP Flex 350 Triple metal additive manufacturing machine to produce heat exchangers for hypersonic vehicles. The partnership, announced on 27 July 2026, centres on C103, a niobium-based refractory alloy engineered to withstand the extreme thermal loads that hypersonic flight generates. Elmet expects to qualify the system and begin production before the end of 2026.
The deployment is more than a procurement upgrade. It is a deliberate move to compress and domesticate a supply chain that, for hypersonic-grade refractory metals, has historically depended on lengthy international sourcing and specialised machining capacity that sits outside the United States. By printing complex heat-exchanger geometries in-house, Elmet can bypass several fabrication steps and reduce the intellectual-property exposure that comes with distributing advanced component designs across a fragmented supplier base.
Eight years in the making
The C103 material parameters used in this deployment were not developed overnight. Elmet's engineers spent eight years working alongside 3D Systems' Application Innovation Group, a consultancy-style engineering team embedded within the company. That groundwork, carried out on an earlier 3D Systems metal printer, is expected to make re-qualification on the newer DMP Flex 350 Triple relatively straightforward. Scott Ohm, R&D Manager at Elmet Technologies, said the prior research "will make it very easy to begin production on the DMP 350 Flex Triple", with full NASA 6030 certification anticipated within months of initial machine qualification.
The DMP Flex 350 Triple's headline technical differentiator is its low-oxygen build environment, typically holding oxygen levels at between zero and six parts per million. That matters acutely for refractory metals such as C103: oxygen contamination at higher concentrations degrades mechanical properties and surface finish, making tight atmospheric control a prerequisite rather than a luxury. Three lasers operating in parallel expand throughput, while a 350 mm cubic build volume accommodates the large geometries that hypersonic heat-exchanger designs demand.
Defence supply chain meets additive manufacturing convergence
The strategic subtext here extends well beyond a single vendor relationship. The US defence industrial base has faced sustained scrutiny over its dependence on extended, often offshore supply chains for advanced materials. Hypersonic programmes in particular have drawn attention from the Pentagon and Congress, given the technology's strategic priority and the lead times associated with sourcing and qualifying exotic alloys. Additive manufacturing is increasingly positioned as a structural fix: tool-free production, shorter iteration cycles, and on-shore or near-shore manufacturing agility.
For cross-sector investors, the Elmet-3D Systems collaboration illustrates a broader capital theme. Defence prime contractors and their tier-one suppliers are accelerating adoption of industrial additive manufacturing not as a research curiosity but as a production-grade supply-chain hedge. 3D Systems, which also serves aerospace, medical, and AI-infrastructure markets, represents a convergence node: the same laser powder bed fusion platforms that produce hypersonic components can, with different material parameters, produce medical implants or satellite brackets. That platform versatility is increasingly attractive to defence procurement programmes that need certified processes but cannot afford single-use tooling cycles.
The next inflection point to watch is whether Elmet's rapid NASA 6030 certification timeline holds. If the qualification completes within the projected window, it will serve as a proof point for the broader argument that additive manufacturing can meet defence-grade certification standards at a pace previously reserved for conventional subtractive processes. A successful outcome could accelerate adoption across other refractory-metal applications in hypersonic, space-launch, and directed-energy programmes where thermal management is a critical design constraint.