Freeform Future Corp., a startup developing 3D printers for the production of metal parts, today announcement that it raised $14 million in funding.

The capital came from Nvidia Corp.’s NVentures fund. and Boeing Co.’s AE Ventures. In addition to providing financing, the two companies will also provide Freeform with other resources such as graphics cards. The startup has already raised $45 million from a group of venture capital firms.

Metal objects such as car engine components are primarily manufactured using so-called CNC machines, which are essentially large power tools controlled by a computer. In some industries, manufacturers are also adding 3D printers to their production lines. Such systems require less labor to set up than a CNC system and are more efficient at producing certain types of small and complex metal components.

At the same time, 3D printers also introduce a new set of challenges. They require specialized expertise to use and produce parts at a relatively slow pace. As a result, adoption of 3D printers remains limited among manufacturers.

Freeform, based in Hawthorne, California, hopes to make the technology a more practical choice for producing metal parts. The company develops 3D printers powered by artificial intelligence software. According to the company, its AI analyzes metal parts during production to ensure they do not contain any defects.

Freeform runs the software not only on graphics cards, but also on FPGAs or field programmable gate arrays. These are programmable chips that a company can optimize for a specific program to speed up that program. A manufacturer, for example, can configure its FPGAs to run the software that coordinates its production lines.

Industrial 3D printers produce parts in an internal chamber filled with metal powder. During manufacturing, this powder is melted by a laser or electron beam generator. The heat causes the metal particles to fuse into a single object with a customer-specified structure.

Once the initial batch of metal powder is processed, 3D printers can add more layers on top and repeat the workflow. Support structures made of the same metal as the powder are sometimes added to streamline the process. This technique makes it possible to create pieces with very elaborate shapes.

Some 3D printers implement a different manufacturing approach. Instead of melting the metal powder, they use an adhesive liquid to turn it into a single mass. They then remove unnecessary materials and shape the rest into the shape specified by the customer using a combination of pressure and heat.

Instead of selling its 3D printers, Freeform deploys them in an in-house factory that provides contract manufacturing services. Customers can order custom components without having to learn how to use a fleet of 3D printers. Additionally, they can avoid the upfront expenses associated with purchasing such hardware.

The company works with organizations in the aerospace, automotive, industrial and energy sectors. It claims to be able to produce thousands of parts per day for its customers.

Freeform will use its new funding to increase its production capacity, develop a faster 3D printer and increase the number of materials its factory can process. To support this effort, Nvidia will provide the company with H100 graphics processing units. Boeing, in turn, reportedly intends to guide Freeform through its supplier onboarding process in a partnership that could would have lead to partial purchases.

Picture: Free form