As I discussed in my AMUG 2026 overview, I had loads of delays touring to Reno, Nevada to attend the convention. So sadly, I missed “From Hypercars to Protection Drones: How Two Main Trade Innovators Began their Partnership Journey at AMUG,” the Tuesday morning keynote by Steve Fournier, Senior Supervisor – Additive Manufacturing at Basic Atomics Aeronautical Programs (GA-ASI), and Scott Sawyer, Director of Applications – Aerospace and Protection, at Divergent.
Fortunately, later that day, I had the possibility to talk with each Fournier and Sawyer, and requested them to fill me in on what I’d missed throughout their joint presentation. It’s a narrative that proves simply how essential it’s to make trade connections with folks in numerous fields and disciplines than your personal, and share your experiences with one another.
Steve Fournier, Basic Atomics Aeronautical Programs (GA-ASI), and Scott Sawyer, Divergent, onstage at AMUG 2026.
At AMUG 2022, Kevin Czinger, the founder and Govt Chairman of Divergent, offered a keynote. One of many folks within the viewers that day was Fournier. Divergent was primarily targeted on automotive functions on the time, and GA-ASI works in aerospace and protection. However after the presentation, the 2 corporations met up for a dialog.
“We met and principally we requested a easy query, which is, how can your expertise stack be utilized to a special trade, resembling aerospace and protection, unmanned techniques particularly?” Fournier advised me. “And that began a journey of 4 years, which impacted us as a drone producer in the way in which we make drones. It additionally impacted Divergent in the way in which they have a look at totally different markets apart from automotive.”
Sawyer concurred with Fournier’s evaluation of that preliminary dialog with Czinger.
Scott Sawyer, Divergent
“After Steve and Kevin related, Divergent acquired set out on the trail, through efforts with GA-ASI on the time, of seeing how that expertise can transition into aerospace and protection, particularly with unmanned plane techniques working with GA-ASI, and understanding what carryover is there for the expertise, what tech growth must happen, and even what’s the course of day-to-day of engineering groups working collectively, sharing knowledge, doing collaborative design and evaluation.”
Curiously, Sawyer truly used to work with GA-ASI earlier than shifting to Divergent, the place he’s been employed for rather less than two years. He spent 15 years targeted on aerospace and protection functions, however went to Divergent after he noticed “the expertise from the tip person standpoint of working at GA-ASI and noticed its functions.”
“Again in 2022, Divergent was very a lot commercially automotive, each from design and supply of merchandise to automotive OEMs, however then after all as nicely, designing and manufacturing Czinger automobiles,” Sawyer stated.
Since that preliminary connection at AMUG, Divergent has considerably expanded its portfolio past automotive functions and into “the air area,” as Sawyer stated. The corporate now additionally works to supply unmanned plane techniques (UAS), just like the 3D printed drone it labored with GA-ASI to create; at AMUG 2023, Fournier truly took the stage with Divergent’s CTO to share in regards to the design, 3D printing, and robotic meeting of the drone.
AMUG 2023 presentation by Divergent and GA-ASI. Picture courtesy of 3DPrint.com
Sawyer additionally stated that Divergent is constant to develop its horizons and work on “subsurface functions,” like unmanned underwater automobiles, and is even engaged on house functions.
Bringing the dialog again to their joint presentation at AMUG 2026, Sawyer defined that what they shared with the viewers was how “the preliminary efforts that Steve and Kevin spearheaded between the businesses” helped outline what entry into the AM house seems like.
“What are the hurdles that we’re gonna have to beat, all the way in which all the way down to the fabric qualification, environmental qualification, buyer engagement. The place does this expertise make sense? The place does it not make sense?”
In Sawyer’s phrases, Divergent used that preliminary collaboration with GA-ASI as “sort of a stepping stone” to develop extra broadly into aerospace and protection markets as nicely.
Fournier stated, “Once I mirror again on how the GA-ASI and Divergent partnership emerged, I feel one of many key messages that we tried to ship out is that we reside in bubbles of selfish areas of curiosity, and occasions like AMUG are consultant of this. The additive group is a bubble in itself. Typically, after we step again and peek at different such bubbles or industries, we notice that typically we’ve got extra issues in widespread than we predict, or that we will be taught new issues from others. That is the large lesson right here. Even inside the ‘additive bubble of AMUG,’ which has grown tremendously over its historical past, there are a number of ‘sub-bubbles.’”
Certainly, he additionally famous that there are a number of “sub-bubbles” within the AM trade, like oil and fuel, medical, protection, aerospace, and house, and that we naturally converse inside our personal small bubbles, as a result of that’s the place we’re comfy.
“We don’t essentially spend sufficient time to worth another fields that will have a chunk of knowledge that could possibly be utilized and switch to what your utility house is.”
Because of this AMUG is so totally different from different conferences, and so crucial. I had heard in regards to the occasion’s custom of getting folks draw desk numbers out of a bowl, and that’s the place you needed to sit for lunch, and I used to be actually dreading it; as I advised a colleague, I usually discover a quiet nook desk at trade occasions and simply work whereas I eat alone. However I ended up actually having fun with the chance to get pleasure from a full meal and conversations with folks from totally different international locations and components of the trade, and listening to what they needed to say.
AMUG 2026. Picture courtesy of 3DPrint.com
As Fournier defined, even when there are two forms of automobiles that aren’t in any respect the identical on the surface, for those who break them all the way down to the subsystems, they may have extra in widespread than we might imagine.
“You may make a correlation between product sorts,” he stated. “And for those who begin doing that, you begin discovering way more commonalities that may be transferred. That’s conceptual.”
He famous that it’s human nature to not need to change up how we do issues, and stated that breaking these limitations within the Divergent and GA-ASI collaboration “was sort of what we needed to carry to the viewers” at AMUG.
“How can we get by way of that, and what’s the success on the opposite aspect?” Fournier stated. “It’s not prefer it’s been ten years, it’s 4 years, and have a look at all of the issues that occurred since then.”
By way of what Fournier stated in regards to the additive bubble, I referenced our latest AMS 2026 occasion, the place Josef Prusa, CEO and Founding father of Prusa Analysis, advised attendees that the AM trade is “residing in an enormous bubble and we very not often go exterior that bubble and communicate to the folks and make them enthusiastic about 3D printing.” Many nonetheless suppose that 3D printing is just good for toys and prototyping. Fournier stated that their presentation made it very apparent “that additive is right here to remain, and it may be useful commercially.”
“When Apple comes up with 1,000,000 Apple watch instances, that’s industrial utility at scale,” he stated. “That may be a matter we talked about. With the amount that we carry when it comes to variety of plane a 12 months…it’s not a transitional expertise anymore. It’s a manufacturing expertise.”
He introduced up DAPS expertise—quick for Divergent Adaptive Manufacturing System—and stated that is the place it “actually shines, since you design for DAPS and then you definitely produce with DAPS.”
AMUG 2023 presentation by Divergent and GA-ASI. Picture courtesy of 3DPrint.com
Sawyer jumped in right here, explaining that whereas DAPS “is additive manufacturing-based, it’s additionally the design and robotic meeting of advanced structural options.”
“So to Steve’s level, particularly as we’ve grown in aerospace and protection…delivering a functionality and prototype demonstration atmosphere is nice. It’s required for aerospace functions. However the finish imaginative and prescient, you continue to want to have the ability to go manufacture at fee. Working with our clients and primes and authorities, it’s important that we don’t lose sight of that.
“Let’s prototype, let’s be taught, let’s iterate. However on the finish of the day, let’s ensure that we will scale and ship capabilities at fee immediately.”
We additionally talked slightly bit about AMUG itself, as Sawyer and I had been each first-timers.
“I am going to loads of conferences, however they’re all very commercially targeted, proper? Enterprise technique and enterprise progress, particulars of the industrial utility. And this has been cool,” Sawyer stated. “The speak was cool as a result of it’s extra engineering-centric. What have you ever demonstrated, what capabilities? Seeing the openness of corporations, on the engineering stage and technical stage, to share concepts and see how we will develop, it’s very totally different than different conferences.”
Fournier stated that’s precisely why he thought their presentation would work nicely at AMUG.
Steve Fournier, GA-ASI
“It’s particularly a person base,” he stated. “At commerce reveals, you’ve acquired OEMs of supplies, machine, software program. They’re attempting to map out the market and one another. They’ve showcases they usually have talks, however the talks are supplemental. Then you might have the opposite excessive, the place you might have loads of scientific, academia, analysis kind stuff, which is nice. Then customers are sort of within the center. The machines, the fabric, the academia, the idea, the software program, we’re making use of that each day for functions.”
There’s a larger willingness to share with one another at AMUG, out of your opinions on varied OEMs to qualification challenges you’re having.
“All that collectively makes this occasion particularly attention-grabbing and particularly related for any such dialogue,” Fournier stated. “The purpose of our dialogue was to not promote something, however to actually entice folks to do comparable forms of endeavors, whether or not or not it’s with Divergent, or with one other expertise supplier, or one other person that wishes to share and companion. There’s that strategy of trying over the fence, having a visionary second, and having a technique to go execute that imaginative and prescient in the direction of onboarding it into your personal operation. That’s actually what we’ve accomplished and I feel that’s what Divergent is sweet at doing.”
Sawyer wholeheartedly agreed, noting that their intent was to supply their connection and ensuing partnership as “an instance to encourage others to hopefully discover comparable collaborations.”
“I feel throughout the board, the extra adoption you may get, irrespective of who that’s pushed by, is extraordinarily essential.”
In closing, Fournier stated that he believes additive will develop when the functions develop.
“Divergent wasn’t right here to promote supplies or machines, however functions, and particularly my utility, which brings a profit to my clients,” he stated. “By making that utility work, utilizing additive, is the most effective demonstration that additive works. You may write papers, you’ll be able to have a dissertation, a PowerPoint presentation on the way you qualify and statistically show that additive is working and is value it. You may construct a price mannequin, you’ll be able to current at AMUG. However for those who can present up with {hardware} that’s in full manufacturing, there’s no higher demonstration that additive works.”
Photographs courtesy of AMUG until in any other case famous.
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