Materials Resources, LLC (MRL) is the leader in determining the impact that the micro and meso-scale characteristics of materials have upon the macro scale performance by using an advanced approach that Integrates the latest advances in Computational science, the principles of Materials science, for Engineering solutions (ICME). Our focus is on metallic additively manufactured material. We have been working with the DoD and DoE on over 30 contracts related to improving additive manufacturing processes and we have used the combined learning of these projects into the world’s first cloud-based ICME framework for producing the digital twin for your parts. Our goal as a company is to solve problems in the additive industry and produce solutions that allow any designer to build high quality parts with model-based qualification to support the use of the parts.
Our business was founded in 2009 by Ayman Salem Ph.D. after working at the Air Force Research Labs at Wright Patterson Air Force Base. At this point in time, the company’s focus was on using the ICME approach for characterizing the microstructure in conventionally wrought and cast Titanium especially obtaining high order statistical representations of microstructure for predicting material performance. We recognized a potential shift in the metal producing industry with the nascent metallic 3D printing industry and the company purchased its first metallic 3D printer. Using some of the tools we developed for conventional material microstructural characterization, and many new physics-based models, machine learning techniques, and a brand new database infrastructure, MRL has transitioned its focus to additive.
The manufacturing world is rapidly changing. We are working to put the ability of complex manufacturing into to the hands of the masses. The industrial revolution (of the 18th century) brought about the factory and marked the end to an era that was predominated by artisan manufacturers. Since then, the global manufacturing process has followed a rigid strategy of prototyping followed by mass manufacture typically outside the US. Then, a substantial up-charge is added to the cost because the part needs to be transported and distributed. This manufacturing model is limited and MRL is working to give the freedom of manufacturing back to any person.
Right now, we are living in the era of transition to distributed manufacturing.
Distributed manufacturing means a transition from mass production to meso or micro production. The first demonstration of this transition is the proliferation of plastic printers now used by millions, just in the US. Plastic printing has allowed for the production of hundreds of thousands of unique designs and unique implementations but plastic, as a material, is limited in its application. MRL seeks the to surpass the impact that plastic printing has made on ingenuity by giving its customers access to metal 3D printing.
Over the last 10 years, MRL has worked tirelessly on over 30 combined projects with the DoD and DoE to demonstrate the ability of additively manufactured metal parts to perform at the same level as their conventional counterparts and in some cases to exceed the conventional performance. While completing these projects, MRL has been working towards its vision as a company. To combine our know-how and problem solving skills into a robust framework that has become the software iCAAM (Integrated Computational Adaptive Additive Manufacturing). Producing metal additively is not an easy process, but our software makes it easy. It combines thousands of hours of simulation and experiments into a software that leverages physics-based modeling, data-driven modeling, and machine learning to determine the optimal method of manufacture for optimal performance. Then, using the data from your builds, it is able to predict your part's location-specific performance so that you can be sure your part will meet your desired implementation.