Divergent Technologies, a Torrance-based company that uses 3D printing to design and build auto parts, recently announced that it received a $100 million investment from Swedish firm Hexagon AB.
Divergent is the developer of the Divergent Adaptive Production System, also known as DAPS. This patented production process combines generative design software, 3D printing and autonomous assembly that allows manufacturers to make quick design iterations or invent new product models from anywhere in the world.
DAPS can manufacture and assemble any design with the same hardware infrastructure, so it can seamlessly switch between different vehicle models without any downtime. DAPS is also less energy- and resource-intensive than traditional automobile manufacturing, according to Divergent, and it produces vehicles that are lighter and more efficient.
“Manufacturing a car’s parts has a much greater impact on the environment than the car’s exhaust emissions, which is why new manufacturing concepts will win,” Hexagon President and CEO Ola Rollén said in a statement. “We must find ways to empower car makers with more efficient and environmentally friendly manufacturing processes that minimise material usage and total system cost. Incremental steps are simply not enough to save the planet.”
Divergent, which just secured $160 million in Series C financing in April, said Hexagon’s investment will allow it to accelerate its plans to build a global network of DAPS factories, each of which will serve multiple original equipment manufacturers, or OEMs.
In April, Divergent said it was in development with eight OEMs, with the first program entering production this year. The company said at that time that it planned to deploy additional DAPS factories in the U.S. and Europe beginning in 2024.
