Elmet Puts 3D Systems' DMP Flex 350 Triple to Work on Hypersonic Parts

A defense supplier bets on metal 3D printing

Elmet Technologies, a US defense manufacturer, is deploying 3D Systems' DMP Flex 350 Triple to print advanced aerospace parts for hypersonic vehicles. The work centers on a niobium-based alloy called C103, a material chosen for its ability to hold up under the kind of heat a hypersonic airframe sees.

C103 is mostly niobium, with hafnium and titanium mixed in. It is the sort of reactive metal that is miserable to machine the old way, which is exactly why Elmet looked at additive manufacturing instead of brazing and conventional fabrication.

What the machine actually does

The DMP Flex 350 Triple is a laser powder bed fusion printer with three lasers and a 350 x 350 x 350 mm build volume. Its standout feature is a low-oxygen chamber that holds below 25 parts per million, and often sits closer to 0 to 6 ppm. That tight atmosphere keeps the metal chemistry clean and lets Elmet reuse powder without wrecking the material.

Elmet plans to use the system to build large heat exchangers for hypersonic vehicles. Scott Ohm, R&D manager at Elmet, said the team already developed C103 parameter sets on an earlier 3D Systems machine, so moving to the Triple should be quick. He expects qualification within a couple of months and NASA 6030 certification a few months after that.

Why this matters for defense manufacturing

Metal 3D printing lets Elmet make monolithic parts with thin walls and complex internal channels that brazing simply cannot produce. Fewer joins means fewer leak paths, shorter lead times, and better yields. It also shrinks the supply chain and keeps sensitive designs in-house.

Mike Shepard, vice president of aerospace and defense at 3D Systems, called the project a clear example of using metal AM to open new options in aerospace production. For a defense industrial base worried about long supplier lines, that argument lands hard.

This is not a research curiosity. Elmet intends to be in production this year, which puts the DMP Flex 350 Triple alongside the handful of metal printers actually earning their keep making flight-ready hardware.