en.Wedoany.com Reported - Divergent Technologies has announced the design and construction of an advanced industrial metal 3D printer in the United States, along with the expansion of its factory capacity to Long Beach, California. The expanded manufacturing operations will increase its annual output for defense and commercial client projects by eight times.
The Monolith One printer is designed for continuous high-throughput operation, standing over 8 meters tall and 6 meters wide. It utilizes Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) technology, delivering 24 kW of laser power driven by twelve 2 kW lasers, with a build volume of 700 x 700 x 835 mm. The printer is compatible with any industrial standard alloys, including aluminum, nickel, steel, and titanium, offering maximum manufacturing flexibility.
Based on 12 years of additive manufacturing experience, the Monolith One was designed, engineered, and developed internally over 28 months under the leadership of Chief Technology Officer Brian Erhartic. The printer is not sold or licensed externally and is a key component of the company's software-defined manufacturing platform, DAPS. DAPS produces mission-critical metal and multi-material structures for the aerospace, defense, and automotive sectors. The integration of Monolith One provides unprecedented control, ensuring quality and efficiency in every print. Designed, engineered, and manufactured in the United States, the printer ensures supply chain security.
In addition to launching the new printer, Divergent has opened a second factory in Long Beach, spanning 430,000 square feet. The company currently operates six Monolith One printers at its headquarters in Torrance, California, and plans to add 64 units to the Long Beach facility over the next 24 months. This factory can produce tens of thousands of missile airframes or hundreds of thousands of critical components annually. Traditional supply chains often take months or years to deliver hardware, while DAPS can compress this timeline to weeks or days. Monolith One enhances Divergent's ability to deliver complex structures for prime contractors such as Lockheed Martin, RTX, and CoAspire.
By producing LPBF printers internally, Monolith One offers an adaptable, reliable, high-performance additive manufacturing solution with guaranteed quality. Its industrial-grade architecture measures 6.5 meters by 6.5 meters by 8.2 meters, designed for continuous high-throughput production. The build volume of 700 x 700 x 835 mm is used for complex structure manufacturing. Each printer has a total laser power of 24 kW, driven by twelve 2 kW lasers, utilizing advanced beam shaping technology to achieve unparalleled deposition rates, resulting in superior process stability and part quality. Printer throughput is increased by more than 2x, and it is compatible with all industrial standard alloys, including aluminum, nickel, steel, and titanium. Dynamic optical control, featuring a 4-axis scanner with spot size scaling capability, enables precise energy positioning. Advanced environmental stability is provided by a powerful gas flow system of up to 1,700 cubic meters per hour, achieving 3x gas flow capacity compared to existing printers, supporting high-energy processing and extended run times. A closed-loop powder handling system integrates powder recovery and recirculation, maintaining material quality and enabling continuous operation. Active thermal control achieves build platform heating of up to 200°C and new cooling controls, improving reliability, dimensional stability, and repeatability. Rapid turnaround is achieved through replaceable build modules and software automation, reducing downtime and increasing machine utilization. Innovative condensate management employs a permanent filtration system with advanced condensate management, reducing maintenance and improving operational efficiency and safety.
Since its founding in 2014, Divergent has grown alongside the Southern California advanced technology ecosystem. With the addition of the Long Beach factory, the company's total facility space exceeds 550,000 square feet. The 64 new printers will significantly boost manufacturing capacity, and when fully operational, they can deliver over 275,000 components, more than 30,000 missile airframes (500-pound class), over 60,000 warhead casings (100-pound class), more than 25,000 automotive subframes, or over 30,000 automotive suspension systems annually, among other critical hardware. Long Beach has historically played a significant role in defense and industry, housing large aircraft production facilities during World War II. When fully operational, the new manufacturing campus will support approximately 1,000 direct jobs and create thousands of indirect jobs through construction, local suppliers, and supporting businesses. The facility includes 30,000 square feet of office space and 400,000 square feet of digital manufacturing and assembly space.
With DAPS, Divergent designs, builds, and assembles complex metal and multi-material structures for global commercial and defense clients, having produced critical hardware for Lockheed Martin, RTX, General Atomics, CoAspire, Saab, Triumph Group, Bugatti, and McLaren. The company has raised over $1 billion in its 12-year history, including a $290 million Series E round led by Rochefort Asset Management last year, valuing the company at $2.3 billion. In January 2026, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth visited the company as part of his "Arsenal of Freedom" tour, highlighting the company's role in rebuilding U.S. defense manufacturing capabilities.
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