As I discussed in my AMUG 2026 overview, I had a number of delays touring to Reno, Nevada to attend the convention. So sadly, I missed “From Hypercars to Protection Drones: How Two Main Business Innovators Began their Partnership Journey at AMUG,” the Tuesday morning keynote by Steve Fournier, Senior Supervisor – Additive Manufacturing at Common Atomics Aeronautical Programs (GA-ASI), and Scott Sawyer, Director of Packages – Aerospace and Protection, at Divergent.
Fortunately, later that day, I had the possibility to talk with each Fournier and Sawyer, and requested them to fill me in on what I’d missed throughout their joint presentation. It’s a narrative that proves simply how vital it’s to make trade connections with folks in several fields and disciplines than your personal, and share your experiences with one another.
Steve Fournier, Common Atomics Aeronautical Programs (GA-ASI), and Scott Sawyer, Divergent, onstage at AMUG 2026.
At AMUG 2022, Kevin Czinger, the founder and Government Chairman of Divergent, offered a keynote. One of many folks within the viewers that day was Fournier. Divergent was primarily centered on automotive functions on the time, and GA-ASI works in aerospace and protection. However after the presentation, the 2 firms met up for a dialog.
“We met and mainly we requested a easy query, which is, how can your expertise stack be utilized to a distinct trade, equivalent to aerospace and protection, unmanned programs particularly?” Fournier advised me. “And that began a journey of 4 years, which impacted us as a drone producer in the best way we make drones. It additionally impacted Divergent in the best way they have a look at totally different markets moreover automotive.”
Sawyer concurred with Fournier’s evaluation of that preliminary dialog with Czinger.
Scott Sawyer, Divergent
“After Steve and Kevin related, Divergent obtained set out on the trail, through efforts with GA-ASI on the time, of seeing how that expertise can transition into aerospace and protection, particularly with unmanned plane programs working with GA-ASI, and understanding what carryover is there for the expertise, what tech improvement must happen, and even what’s the course of day-to-day of engineering groups working collectively, sharing information, doing collaborative design and evaluation.”
Curiously, Sawyer really used to work with GA-ASI earlier than transferring to Divergent, the place he’s been employed for rather less than two years. He spent 15 years centered on aerospace and protection functions, however went to Divergent after he noticed “the expertise from the top person standpoint of working at GA-ASI and noticed its functions.”
“Again in 2022, Divergent was very a lot commercially automotive, each from design and supply of merchandise to automotive OEMs, however then in fact as nicely, designing and manufacturing Czinger autos,” Sawyer mentioned.
Since that preliminary connection at AMUG, Divergent has considerably expanded its portfolio past automotive functions and into “the air area,” as Sawyer mentioned. The corporate now additionally works to provide unmanned plane programs (UAS), just like the 3D printed drone it labored with GA-ASI to create; at AMUG 2023, Fournier really took the stage with Divergent’s CTO to share concerning the design, 3D printing, and robotic meeting of the drone.
AMUG 2023 presentation by Divergent and GA-ASI. Picture courtesy of 3DPrint.com
Sawyer additionally mentioned that Divergent is continuous to develop its horizons and work on “subsurface functions,” like unmanned underwater autos, and is even engaged on house functions.
Bringing the dialog again to their joint presentation at AMUG 2026, Sawyer defined that what they shared with the viewers was how “the preliminary efforts that Steve and Kevin spearheaded between the businesses” helped outline what entry into the AM house seems to be like.
“What are the hurdles that we’re gonna have to beat, all the best way all the way down to the fabric qualification, environmental qualification, buyer engagement. The place does this expertise make sense? The place does it not make sense?”
In Sawyer’s phrases, Divergent used that preliminary collaboration with GA-ASI as “type of a stepping stone” to broaden extra broadly into aerospace and protection markets as nicely.
Fournier mentioned, “After I mirror again on how the GA-ASI and Divergent partnership emerged, I believe one of many key messages that we tried to ship out is that we dwell in bubbles of selfish areas of curiosity, and occasions like AMUG are consultant of this. The additive group is a bubble in itself. Generally, after we step again and peek at different such bubbles or industries, we understand that generally now we have extra issues in frequent than we predict, or that we are able to study new issues from others. That is the large lesson right here. Even throughout the ‘additive bubble of AMUG,’ which has grown tremendously over its historical past, there are a number of ‘sub-bubbles.’”
Certainly, he additionally famous that there are a number of “sub-bubbles” within the AM trade, like oil and gasoline, medical, protection, aerospace, and house, and that we naturally converse inside our personal small bubbles, as a result of that’s the place we’re snug.
“We don’t essentially spend sufficient time to worth another fields that will have a chunk of knowledge that could possibly be utilized and switch to what your utility house is.”
That is why AMUG is so totally different from different conferences, and so crucial. I had heard concerning the occasion’s custom of getting folks draw desk numbers out of a bowl, and that’s the place you needed to sit for lunch, and I used to be actually dreading it; as I advised a colleague, I usually discover a quiet nook desk at trade occasions and simply work whereas I eat alone. However I ended up actually having fun with the chance to get pleasure from a full meal and conversations with folks from totally different international locations and components of the trade, and listening to what they needed to say.
AMUG 2026. Picture courtesy of 3DPrint.com
As Fournier defined, even when there are two forms of autos that aren’t in any respect the identical on the skin, when you break them all the way down to the subsystems, they may have extra in frequent than we might imagine.
“You may make a correlation between product sorts,” he mentioned. “And when you begin doing that, you begin discovering way more commonalities that may be transferred. That’s conceptual.”
He famous that it’s human nature to not need to change up how we do issues, and mentioned that breaking these limitations within the Divergent and GA-ASI collaboration “was type of what we needed to convey to the viewers” at AMUG.
“How will we get by way of that, and what’s the success on the opposite aspect?” Fournier mentioned. “It’s not prefer it’s been ten years, it’s 4 years, and have a look at all of the issues that occurred since then.”
By way of what Fournier mentioned concerning the additive bubble, I referenced our latest AMS 2026 occasion, the place Josef Prusa, CEO and Founding father of Prusa Analysis, advised attendees that the AM trade is “dwelling in an enormous bubble and we very hardly ever go outdoors that bubble and converse to the folks and make them enthusiastic about 3D printing.” Many nonetheless suppose that 3D printing is barely good for toys and prototyping. Fournier mentioned that their presentation made it very apparent “that additive is right here to remain, and it may be helpful commercially.”
“When Apple comes up with 1,000,000 Apple watch instances, that’s business utility at scale,” he mentioned. “That could be a matter we talked about. With the amount that we convey when it comes to variety of plane a yr…it’s not a transitional expertise anymore. It’s a manufacturing expertise.”
He introduced up DAPS expertise—quick for Divergent Adaptive Manufacturing System—and mentioned that is the place it “actually shines, since you design for DAPS and then you definately produce with DAPS.”
AMUG 2023 presentation by Divergent and GA-ASI. Picture courtesy of 3DPrint.com
Sawyer jumped in right here, explaining that whereas DAPS “is additive manufacturing-based, it’s additionally the design and robotic meeting of advanced structural options.”
“So to Steve’s level, particularly as we’ve grown in aerospace and protection…delivering a functionality and prototype demonstration atmosphere is nice. It’s required for aerospace functions. However the finish imaginative and prescient, you continue to want to have the ability to go manufacture at price. Working with our clients and primes and authorities, it’s crucial that we don’t lose sight of that.
“Let’s prototype, let’s study, let’s iterate. However on the finish of the day, let’s ensure that we are able to scale and ship capabilities at price at present.”
We additionally talked a bit bit about AMUG itself, as Sawyer and I have been each first-timers.
“I am going to a number of conferences, however they’re all very commercially centered, proper? Enterprise technique and enterprise progress, particulars of the business utility. And this has been cool,” Sawyer mentioned. “The discuss was cool as a result of it’s extra engineering-centric. What have you ever demonstrated, what capabilities? Seeing the openness of firms, on the engineering stage and technical stage, to share concepts and see how we are able to develop, it’s very totally different than different conferences.”
Fournier mentioned that’s precisely why he thought their presentation would work nicely at AMUG.
Steve Fournier, GA-ASI
“It’s particularly a person base,” he mentioned. “At commerce reveals, you’ve obtained OEMs of supplies, machine, software program. They’re attempting to map out the market and one another. They’ve showcases they usually have talks, however the talks are supplemental. Then you may have the opposite excessive, the place you may have a number of scientific, academia, analysis sort stuff, which is nice. Then customers are type of within the center. The machines, the fabric, the academia, the speculation, the software program, we’re making use of that every day for functions.”
There’s a higher willingness to share with one another at AMUG, out of your opinions on numerous OEMs to qualification challenges you’re having.
“All that collectively makes this occasion particularly fascinating and particularly related for this kind of dialogue,” Fournier mentioned. “The purpose of our dialogue was to not promote something, however to essentially entice folks to do comparable forms of endeavors, whether or not or not it’s with Divergent, or with one other expertise supplier, or one other person that desires to share and companion. There’s that means of wanting over the fence, having a visionary second, and having a technique to go execute that imaginative and prescient in direction of onboarding it into your personal operation. That’s actually what we’ve carried out and I believe that’s what Divergent is sweet at doing.”
Sawyer wholeheartedly agreed, noting that their intent was to supply their connection and ensuing partnership as “an instance to encourage others to hopefully discover comparable collaborations.”
“I believe throughout the board, the extra adoption you may get, irrespective of who that’s pushed by, is extraordinarily vital.”
In closing, Fournier mentioned that he believes additive will develop when the functions develop.
“Divergent wasn’t right here to promote supplies or machines, however functions, and particularly my utility, which brings a profit to my clients,” he mentioned. “By making that utility work, utilizing additive, is the very best demonstration that additive works. You possibly can write papers, you’ll be able to have a dissertation, a PowerPoint presentation on the way you qualify and statistically show that additive is working and is value it. You possibly can construct a value mannequin, you’ll be able to current at AMUG. However when you can present up with {hardware} that’s in full manufacturing, there’s no higher demonstration that additive works.”
Pictures courtesy of AMUG until in any other case famous.
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