From Prototype Enabler to Production Infrastructure
Divergent’s metal 3D printer expansion is the shift from using additive manufacturing only for rapid prototypes to building a scalable, software-defined production infrastructure that can deliver high volumes of certified metal parts for aerospace, defense, and automotive programs. This transition centers on Divergent Adaptive Production System (DAPS), which links design, structural analysis, manufacturing, and quality checks in one digital workflow. Changes in materials or engineering parameters are propagated automatically across the process, cutting manual rework and delays. That capability allowed Lockheed Martin Skunk Works and Divergent to turn the Replicator defense drone from a digital concept into a 2.7‑meter physical prototype in under 12 months, bypassing many traditional factory steps. Supported by Lockheed’s USD 25 million (approx. RM115 million) investment in Divergent, this model sets the stage for metal additive to support not only prototypes, but repeatable hardware at aerospace manufacturing scale.
Monolith One: A High-Power Laser Powder Bed Fusion Workhorse
At the core of this strategy is the Monolith One, an in-house laser powder bed fusion metal 3D printer designed for continuous, high-throughput output rather than lab-scale experiments. The system stands more than eight meters tall and roughly 6.5 meters wide, with a 700 x 700 x 835 mm build volume suited to large, complex structures used in defense drone production and aerospace assemblies. Each Monolith One delivers 24 kW of total laser power via twelve 2 kW lasers, using advanced beam shaping and 4‑axis scanners with spot-size zoom for better process stability and part quality. According to Divergent, the printer provides about a 2x throughput increase compared to existing machines and maintains compatibility with standard aerospace alloys including aluminum, nickel, steel, and titanium. Integrated powder handling, active thermal control up to 200°C, and fast, exchangeable build modules are all aimed at industrial-scale reliability.
Long Beach Factory: Scaling to Tens of Thousands of Parts
To back its metal 3D printer expansion with floor space, Divergent has opened a 430,000 sq. ft. facility in Long Beach as its second manufacturing hub. Six Monolith One systems already operate at its Torrance headquarters, and the company plans to add 64 more metal 3D printers at Long Beach over the next 24 months. Combined, the two sites are expected to deliver an eightfold increase in annual production output across defense and commercial programs. Divergent says the Long Beach factory has the capacity to produce tens of thousands of munition airframes or hundreds of thousands of critical piece parts per year, targeting aerospace manufacturing scale rather than small-batch experimentation. This concentration of laser powder bed fusion capacity, tied into DAPS, is designed to collapse lead times from months or years down to weeks or days for primes like Lockheed Martin, RTX, and CoAspire.
Lockheed’s Drone Prototype Hints at Future Defense Production
Lockheed Martin’s Replicator program offers a concrete example of how this new infrastructure could reshape defense drone production. Using DAPS instead of a conventional factory sequence, Lockheed’s Skunk Works and Divergent turned a digital design into a full-scale, 2.7‑meter prototype in under 12 months. Any design or material change was automatically reflected across manufacturing and analysis models, allowing rapid iterations without rebuilding tooling. Lockheed invested USD 25 million (approx. RM115 million) in Divergent to explore additive manufacturing for advanced munitions and the Replicator concept, signaling strategic interest in this approach. During a recent visit, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth examined the 3D‑printed metal components and highlighted their potential to strengthen the defense industrial base and accelerate capability delivery. As Monolith One capacity grows, the same digital design‑to‑production model could move from one-off airframes to serial runs of drones and other mission-critical hardware.
From Rapid Prototyping to Serial Additive Manufacturing
Divergent’s moves show a broader industry turn: metal additive is evolving from a rapid prototyping tool into an integrated production backbone. By designing its own laser powder bed fusion hardware and tying it tightly to DAPS, Divergent controls the full stack from software to metal 3D printers to finished structures. This vertical approach aims to give aerospace and defense primes predictable quality, repeatability, and throughput—capabilities required for flight-critical parts and qualified munition airframes. The planned fleet of 70 Monolith One printers, split between Torrance and Long Beach, positions Divergent to support both niche high-performance applications and higher-volume series production. If the company achieves its promised eightfold output increase and consistently compresses development cycles to months or weeks, it could redefine expectations for aerospace manufacturing scale and reshape supply chains that have long relied on slow, capital-intensive conventional factories.
