Canada-based additive manufacturing company AON3D has secured a $11.5M USD Series A funding and a partnership with Astrobotic for their historic Peregrine Moon Lander (PM1) mission.
Being able to secure money to accelerate the growth of a company is another reason to believe that you are on the right track and what you do is worthy. For an additive manufacturing company, each partnership is usually a pride, and when this partnership concerns a space mission, this pride is even immense.
Indeed, as per the word of Astrobotic Mechanical Engineer Clay Inman, over time, one quickly learns that “there is no environment as demanding as the vacuum of space, and we need parts that are able to withstand the immense challenges of launch and spaceflight.”
So, the Astrobotic mission is described as “the first US lunar lander to soft land on the moon since Apollo 17”. For this mission, AON3D 3D printed hundreds of 3D printed parts using its industrial AON3D M2+.
The lunar hardware includes 3D printed essential bracketry components, including fixtures within integral avionics boxes, which perform all mission-critical command and data handling for the lander. The 3D printer manufacturer and parts producer also fabricatedthe capsules within DHL MoonBox, a light-weight vessel used to transport space-freight payloads for private citizens. The MoonBox is designed to withstand the harsh extremes of space and keep items safe on the lunar surface.
“Our printers’ ability to 3D print the lightest and strongest end-use parts—from virtually any of the highest-grade available thermoplastics—is what makes AON3D able to manufacture critical components for the most extreme use cases,” said AON3D CEO and co-founder, Kevin Han.
“Being able to go from full-scale, economical prototypes to space-ready parts—using PEEK, PEKK, and ULTEM™ on one machine—was huge for achieving our ambitious goals. Now, we can rigorously test our parts, create custom tooling, and then go right into printing proprietary, mission-ready components with engineering grade materials”, Clay Inman adds.
As for the funding round…
Let’s note first that AON3D helps companies achieve their manufacturing needs with 3D printers that boast the largest sub-$50k build volume. Its latest release, the AON M2+ is a great example of high temperature 3D printer comes to provide new manufacturing opportunities through increased materials accessibility.
The new funding round brings the company’s total funding to $14.2M. It is led by SineWave Ventures, with participation from AlleyCorp, Y Combinator Continuity, BDC Capital, EDC, Panache Ventures, MANA Ventures, top social-media influencers Josh Richards & Griffin Johnson, and leading Silicon Valley angels.
In addition to supporting clients, AON3D will use the funding to invest in 3D printing R&D, and hire new talents.
“We believe the 3D printing future is more open source and financially accessible so SMBs have access to the same hardware as top firms. That’s exactly how we modeled AON3D and constructed our AON M2+ printer. We have investors that believe in our vision, and partners like Astrobotic that place the highest trust in our hardware”, Kevin Han concludes.
Remember, you can post job opportunities in the AM Industry on 3D ADEPT Media free of charge or look for a job via our job board. Make sure to follow us on our social networks and subscribe to our weekly newsletter : Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn & Instagram ! If you want to be featured in the next issue of our digital magazine or if you hear a story that needs to be heard, make sure to send it to contact@3dadept.com