Additive manufacturing industry veterans Brent Stucker and David Leigh have invested an undisclosed amount in Added Scientific.
Added Scientific will harness the funds to accelerate the expansion and commercialisation of its product portfolio.
The company spun out of the University of Nottingham several years ago and was founded by Professors Richard Hague, Chris Tuck and Ricky Wildman. It has since contributed to research efforts at both industry and academic institutions and specialises in material jetting, binder jetting and photocurable 3D printing.
Stucker and Leigh both boast more than 30 years of experience in the additive manufacturing field. The former is currently Chief Engineer for North America at Nikon SLM Solutions and Chief Technology Strategist at Wohlers Associates (ASTM International). He previously co-founded 3DSIM, an Additive Manufacturing simulation technology company acquired by Ansys. Leigh, meanwhile, founded Harvest Technologies, one of the first certified AM service bureaus supplying certified aerospace parts, and has held senior C-suite roles at companies including 3D Systems and EOS. Both have helped establish key ANSI standards and were recognised with the AM Industry Achievement Award by SME’s AM Technical Community.
Primarily, their investment will be utilised to further develop Added Scientific's R&D-focused Jetforge 3D inkjet platform. This open printing platform is currently in its beta stage and has been created to reduce the barrier to entry for materials development in inkjet R&D. A benchtop system, it is said to boast options for multiple printheads and can enable complex printing strategies. Added Scientific will now work to 'quickly transition' from 'only building a development platform to also making custom commercial machines developed for specific use cases and materials.'
In addition to their investment in Added Scientific, Stucker and Leigh have joined Added Scientific’s Board of Directors and will strategically advise on the company’s technical and business direction going forward.
Richard Hague, co-founder and Director of Added Scientific, said: “We are delighted to receive this investment from Brent and David as we continue our transition from a contract research organisation to providing a full product offering. The Added Scientific team is extremely excited to collaborate with them as we expand our portfolio. “This investment underscores the growing importance of AM in transforming industries, from aerospace to healthcare. The industry has grown at a steady compound annual rate of over 20% over the last few years, and that momentum is only set to continue as access to specialist technology increases.”
Stucker added: “The acceleration of materials development is one of the most important challenges our industry faces. Added Scientific’s platform not only has the potential to address this head-on, but also to unlock new applications and drive meaningful progress in additive manufacturing. I’m excited to support their next phase of growth.”
Leigh offered: “Lowering the barrier to entry for materials development is key to unlocking the next wave of innovation in additive manufacturing. By making advanced tools more accessible, Added Scientific is enabling a broader range of researchers and developers to contribute to the field. That’s a mission I’m excited to back.”
