Added Scientific announces strategic investment from leading additive manufacturing researchers
Industry heavyweights Brent Stucker Ph.D., and David Leigh, Ph.D to support the expansion of Added Scientific’s product portfolio
Funding will initially be used to develop and commercialise the organisation’s 3D inkjet materials development platform, “Jetforge”
Added Scientific, a leading Additive Manufacturing (AM) and 3D printing company, today announces a strategic investment from two industry leaders, Brent Stucker and David Leigh, to accelerate the expansion and commercialisation of its product portfolio.
Added Scientific is a spinout from the University of Nottingham, founded by Professors Richard Hague, Chris Tuck and Ricky Wildman. The company, which targets research and material developers at both industry and academic institutions, has a skilled team of researchers, engineers and scientists, backed by a management team with a world-class research portfolio in AM. It specialises in material jetting, binder jetting and photocurable 3D printing research and development (R&D) for vendors and end-users.
Brent Stucker and David Leigh are internationally recognised experts in additive manufacturing, each with over 30 years of experience in the field. Stucker is currently Chief Engineer for North America at Nikon SLM Solutions, Chief Technology Strategist at Wohlers Associates (ASTM International), and previously co-founded 3DSIM, an Additive Manufacturing simulation technology company acquired by Ansys. Leigh 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 Stucker and Leigh helped establish key ANSI standards and were recognised with the AM Industry Achievement Award by SME’s AM Technical Community. Both will join Added Scientific’s Board of Directors to strategically advise on the company’s technical and business direction going forward.
The investment will initially be used to develop Added Scientific’s R&D-focused 3D inkjet platform – “Jetforge”. This open printing platform, currently in its beta stage, was created to reduce the barrier to entry for materials development in inkjet R&D. It consists of a benchtop design, with options for multiple printheads, enabling complex printing strategies, and offers a choice of the printhead options based on customers' individual requirements.
With Stucker and Leigh’s investment and support, Added Scientific aims to quickly transition from only building a development platform to also making custom commercial machines developed for specific use cases and materials. Enabled by flexible design processes and principles, Added Scientific can integrate leading printheads from multiple suppliers, allowing them to develop new applications and unique material combinations in a more flexible manner than any other comparative 3D inkjet printing company.
Richard Hague, co-founder and Director of Added Scientific, commented:
“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.”
Brent Stucker Ph.D, commented:
“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.”
David Leigh commented:
“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.”