Italy’s BEAMIT Group was among the first to establish itself as a premier service bureau for high-end 3D printing applications, leading to large investments from Swedish engineering giant Sandvik. Now, the company has further demonstrated its capability in the space by signing a five-year contract with Italian defense firm Leonardo (BIT: LDO).
The contract comes after what has already been five years of collaboration that started in 2017. Together, the two firms developed and qualified BEAMIT’s additive manufacturing (AM) process and defined the steps necessary for standardization. This led to over 100 parts being qualified and installed on key Leonardo aircraft, including M345, M346, and C27J. The new contract with BEAMIT will see the Italian service bureau qualify further components for the military contractor.
BEAMIT has been steadily building up its success in the industry, most recently adding further GE Concept Laser machines to its fleet and collaborating with GE to develop automated post-processing technology. However, BEAMIT is not the only AM supplier for Leonardo.
Since then, Desktop Metal’s Aidro subsidiary was qualified in 2022 to supply 3D printed hydraulic and fluid power systems to Leonardo’s helicopter division. The world’s eighth largest defense company also uses polymer powder bed fusion for product development. Leonardo has also relied on directed energy deposition from Norsk Titanium in the past. There are also all of the AM projects that Leonardo subsidiary Alenia has worked on, including those with Thales Alenia Space.
In 2022, Italy’s then-Prime Minister Mario Draghi floated the idea of an oil consumer cartel in order to help lower the cost of fuel in Europe. In lieu of such a concept, which could prove difficult with new oil wells increasingly difficult to unearth, key elements of Italy’s economy, like Leonardo, may need to work to reduce the cost of fuel internally by making equipment more fuel efficient. By leveraging AM, Leonardo, which is 30.2 percent owned by the government, can make its oil last that much longer.
Subscribe to Our Email Newsletter
Stay up-to-date on all the latest news from the 3D printing industry and receive information and offers from third party vendors.
Print Services
Upload your 3D Models and get them printed quickly and efficiently.
You May Also Like
Havaianas Collaborates with Zellerfeld to Launch 3D Printed Flip-Flops
The shoe of the summer is undoubtedly the flip-flop. Easy on, easy off, your feet won’t get sweaty because there’s not much material, and they’re available in a veritable rainbow...
UCLA Researchers Develop 3D Printed Pen that May Help Detect Parkinson’s Disease
Diagnosing Parkinson’s disease is difficult. Often, early symptoms of the progressive neurological condition may be overlooked, or mistaken for signs of aging. Early diagnosis can help save lives and improve...
Printing Money Episode 30: Q1 2025 Public 3D Printing Earnings Review with Troy Jensen, Cantor Fitzgerald
Printing Money is back with Episode 30, and it’s that quarterly time, so we are happy and thankful to welcome back Troy Jensen (Managing Director, Cantor Fitzgerald) to review the...
Heating Up: 3D Systems’ Scott Green Discusses 3D Printing’s Potential in the Data Center Industry
The relentless rise of NVIDIA, the steadily increasing pledges of major private and public investments in national infrastructure projects around the world, and the general cultural obsession with AI have...