PA: HAMR Industries Announces New Production Facility at Neighborhood 91 in Pittsburgh

HAMR Industries LLC, a developer of advanced materials and manufacturing techniques for components functioning in harsh and extreme environments, announced it has signed an agreement with The Buncher Company for the build out of a new additive manufacturing focused R&D and production facility at Pittsburgh International Airport’s Neighborhood 91 campus. 

“The advantages of Neighborhood 91 are clear, and HAMR is excited to join the Neighborhood,” said CEO & Senior Research Scientist at HAMR Industries LLC, Dr. Michael P. Schmitt. “HAMR has acquired new AM equipment that will allow us to rapidly expand and mature our technologies, and N91 provides the perfect ecosystem to foster innovation.” 

Neighborhood 91, the world’s first end-to-end additive manufacturing production campus provides all the elements of advanced manufacturing on one campus. Located on airport property, adjacent to four runways, it has potential for rapid part deployment for customers around the world. Pittsburgh is also home to a strong workforce and academic resources and recruiting opportunities from universities focused on machine learning, additive manufacturing, and artificial intelligence, including the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University.  

“We are pleased to welcome HAMR to our growing Neighborhood 91 community,” said Vince Gastgeb, Senior Vice President of Corporate and Government Relations, Pittsburgh International Airport. “The work they are doing in materials development will shape the future of advanced manufacturing, and we are excited it will be happening at the Neighborhood 91 campus.” 

HAMR Industries LLC was started in State College, Pa. by Dr. Michael Schmitt and Dr. Jeremy Schreiber to transition materials-driven technologies out of laboratory settings and into commercial use. The company bolsters its internal capabilities by working extensively with collaborating institutions and partners, such as the U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Department of Energy, NASA, and Pennsylvania State University. These collaborations provide access to additional fabrication equipment, test and analysis facilities, and leading experts in a variety of fields. HAMR builds its brand reputation on four pillars: specialists in materials development; experts in novel processing; solutions providers; and a team that will go the extra mile to get things done quickly and correctly.

Recently, the company announced the acquisition of a large format WarpSPEE3D cold spray additive manufacturing (CSAM) unit from SPEE3D Inc., which will facilitate the transition of cold spray repair and AM technology to commercial and government partners by providing the capability to produce large-format parts rapidly and affordably. The system can be used for applications ranging from R&D and space access to DoD sustainment and industrial implementation. Combined with HAMR’s expertise in modeling and materials-driven development, the new unit enables exploration of innovative and novel solutions not previously feasible. 

“In a brief three years, Neighborhood 91 went from concept to reality as a result of partnership with the community and innovative companies that believe in N91’s overall mission of condensing and accelerating the AM supply chain process,” said Brian Goetz, Executive Vice President of The Buncher Company, the master developer of Neighborhood 91.

Current tenants at N91 include: 

·        Arencibia, a global leader in noble gas recycling for AM and powder metallurgy (PM) applications that uses low-cost, high-availability resources like power and nitrogen to recover high-cost, low-availability resources like argon and helium.  

·        Wabtec Corporation, a leading global provider of equipment, systems, digital solutions and value-added services for the freight and transit rail industries, as well as mining, marine and industrial markets. The company has operations in over 50 countries throughout the world.  

·        Cumberland Additive, an established force in the AM industry offering series production of parts and engineering design services in both metals and polymer materials using Power Bed Fusion technology. The company serves major markets, including aerospace, defense, space, energy, and nuclear industries.  

·        Metal Powder Works, founded in 2017 by veterans of the aerospace and defense markets, provides advanced manufacturing customers with high-quality powders through a unique DirectPowder™ process, representing the first invention in powder manufacturing in over 50 years.