Nikon Corporation, in collaboration with its Nikon Advanced Manufacturing subsidiary, has announced the opening of an advanced manufacturing technology center in Long Beach, California.

The 90,000-square-foot (8,361 m2) facility will house several of Nikon’s sub-divisions, including AM Synergy (formerly known as Morf3D), Nikon SLM Solutions Studios, and Nikon Research and Development. The company stated that the center was strategically located to serve aviation, aerospace, and defense clients, offering a suite of solutions for design for additive manufacturing, engineering and manufacturing, prototyping, and production.

The facility will leverage large and ultra-large format laser beam powder bed fusion (L-PBF) tools from Nikon SLM Solutions AG and directed energy deposition equipment. Notably, the company stated that R&D at the center will focus on developing proprietary Nikon technologies, which include new directed energy deposition (DED) solutions for additive manufacturing. 

Analyst QuickTake: This news highlights Nikon's progress on the strategic plans announced during the recent reorganization of its additive manufacturing subsidiary, Morf3D. Now rebranded as Nikon AM Synergy, the company aims to integrate the L-PBF technology from its SLM Solutions subsidiary with its DED solutions. This combination is intended to deliver specialized capabilities to customers in the US.