Oak Ridge, Strangpresse Sign License Agreement
BOARDMAN, Ohio – The U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory has signed a non-exclusive licensing agreement with Strangpresse, LLC, a manufacturer of additive manufacturing equipment.
Under the agreement, Strangpresse may make, use, or sell the lab’s patented materials, processes and controls, Oak Ridge announced. The arrangement would allow using the additive manufacturing process to build parts much larger than the current standards.
“We’re very pleased to be joining with ORNL to carry large-scale additive manufacturing technology to the marketplace,” Strangpresse President Chuck George said in a statement. “Our leadership team has over 70 years of experience in the thermoplastics extrusion industry, and we see this partnership as a great opportunity to expand this technology.”
Strangpresses, established in 2014, was formed to research, develop, and commercialize fully controllable, lightweight, thermoplastic extruders used in additive manufacturing, or 3-D printing. Strangpresse supplies extruders and other equipment for research and development in additive manufacturing to industry leaders.
“The additive manufacturing industry is starting to take notice of some of the ORNL intellectual property,” said Eugene Cochran, ORNL’s senior commercialization manager, in a statement. “ORNL is interested in identifying and working with other companies interested in engaging in this space,” he said.
Last year, a Shelby Cobra automobile was printed at the Oak Ridge lab in Tennessee using Strangpresse equipment. The Cobra debuted at the North American International Auto Show in January.
Lonnie Love, leader of ORNL’s Manufacturing Systems Group, says the speed of next-generation additive manufacturing presents new opportunities for the automotive, aerospace, and prototyping industries.
“Our goal is to demonstrate the potential of large-scale additive manufacturing as an innovative and viable manufacturing technology,” Love says. “We want to improve digital manufacturing solutions for the automotive industry.”
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