Simultaneously, that point is heated by a high-powered laser beam. The laser and jets remain stationary while the model and its substrate are moved to provide continually new targets on which to deposit metal. Another plus, he says, is the process's ability to mix powder streams of different materials. In addition to film, the company, headquartered in Rochester, N.Y., makes a variety of processing equipment and optical devices. The finished product now has a slightly corrugated surface.
LENS extends earlier techniques of rapid prototyping and rapid manufacturing.
That process decreased the waiting period from months to weeks between conception of an idea and its appearance as a product on the market. With main facilities in Albuquerque, N.M., and Livermore, Calif., Sandia has major research and development responsibilities in national security, energy and environmental technologies, and economic competitiveness.