Automation is the foundation of the next era of hardware

There's a lot of excitement in aerospace and defense right now, and it's well earned. David Nusbaum featured First Resonance in a great piece in the Los Angeles Times on why manufacturing automation is the real story and why AI is about to be a massive accelerator for it. He also features two companies we know quite well, Machina Labs and Freeform. The stories in 2026 are saying that hardware companies don't win on design alone. They win on capacity, scale, and operations. The companies that take that seriously early are the ones that actually make it to market. The breakthrough product is table stakes. The harder, more important work is building the scale and operations to produce it cheaper and faster. This is what we did at SpaceX for Falcon 9. It's what SpaceX has kept doing with Starlink and Starship. And it's exactly what we do every day at First Resonance. We're humbled to work alongside customers at the leading edge, not just defining new hardware categories but redefining how those categories get built and brought to the world. Those same principles are now showing up across nuclear energy, aviation, and modular defense hardware. LA isn't only the home of new hardware design. It's the home of the supply chain and operations that turn that hardware into something that changes the world around us. https://lnkd.in/gwMssApQ

The automotive industry is facing one of the most significant transformations in its history. Environmental regulations continue to become more demanding, and vehicle electrification is advancing rapidly. At the same time, internal combustion engines will remain part of millions of vehicles for many years to come. This led me to ask a simple question. Instead of replacing existing systems, could we develop a technology that works alongside them, integrates easily, and significantly improves exhaust emission quality? That question became the starting point for STORM ZR5. STORM ZR5 is based on a different engineering approach. Its purpose is not to replace the conventional catalytic converter. Instead, it is designed to operate after the existing catalyst, where it performs an additional stage of carbon monoxide neutralization before the exhaust is released into the environment. A working prototype has already been developed, practical testing has been completed, and the results have provided a strong foundation for the next stage of development. For me, this project has never been about building just another device. The real objective is to rethink how we approach emissions reduction. Innovation does not always require replacing existing technologies. Sometimes, the greatest progress comes from improving what already exists through a different engineering perspective. I would genuinely welcome constructive feedback, technical discussion, and potential collaboration with engineers, researchers, and companies that are shaping the future of mobility. @Porsche @Mercedes-Benz @BMW Group @Audi AG @Bosch @Forvia @Umicore @BASF

AMRC Unveils COMPASS Facility for Next-Generation Aerospace Production A landmark investment to build next-generation industrial and manufacturing capabilities for future aerospace production has officially opened at the UK's University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC).... https://lnkd.in/ghm9xVfU

AMRC Unveils COMPASS Facility for Next-Generation Aerospace Production A landmark investment to build next-generation industrial and manufacturing capabilities for future aerospace production has officially opened at the UK's University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC).... https://lnkd.in/gYE3tPS5

This article highlights a major leap in materials science driven entirely by autonomous, closed-loop AI—a perfect real-world example of agentic systems removing friction from the path of discovery. Researchers at the University of Toronto built a "self-driving laboratory" that discovered six new, high-performance superalloys tailored for 3D printing in a matter of weeks. Using traditional trial-and-error laboratory methods, navigating this design space would have taken years. Here is the breakdown of the breakthrough: ### The "Self-Driving" Closed Loop The team bypassed human preparation bottlenecks by utilizing an "active learning" system that links predictive modeling directly to robotic fabrication. 1. **Prediction:** The AI model selects candidate elemental compositions based on mapping out areas of uncertainty in its current data. 2. **Fabrication:** Robotic systems physically synthesize and 3D print the selected samples. 3. **Testing:** Automated tools subject the physical samples to extreme heat, measuring hardness and oxidation resistance. 4. **Integration:** The results re-enter the machine learning model as fresh training data, instantly informing the next iteration. ### High-Performance, Low-Complexity Formulations What stands out is the compositional efficiency of the discovered metals. The prevailing aerospace industry standard—Inconel 625—is a highly complex alloy engineered over decades that relies on more than ten distinct elemental additions. The AI, however, was tasked with maximizing a relatively simple three-element system: **nickel, cobalt, and chromium**. Despite relying on far fewer elements, the new formulations severely outclassed the multi-decade incumbent in extreme environments—exactly the kind of thermal resilience required for jet turbine rear stages, nuclear power generation, or orbital hardware. | Alloy Composition | Primary Performance Target | Performance vs. Inconel 625 | | --- | --- | --- | | **12% Ni / 62% Co / 26% Cr** | Hardness retention (Up to 600°C) | **+4.5%** | | **36% Ni / 14% Co / 50% Cr** | Oxidation resistance (Up to 1,000°C) | **+85%** | ### The Strategic Shift Beyond the specific alloys, the self-driving lab proves that structural materials can now be optimized for precise, localized industrial needs at an unprecedented speed. The ability to discover, test, and additive-manufacture bespoke superalloys compresses the traditional supply chain, allowing smaller, agile industrial clusters to produce aerospace-grade components without relying on massive legacy foundries. https://lnkd.in/gTv3uuUK

Shaping the future: Loop Technology Ltd’s FibreLINE provides revolutionary automation for high-rate composite manufacturing at the AMRC’s COMPASS facility. Grab yourself a copy of Aerospace Manufacturing magazine's July issue to learn more about Loop Technology FibreLINE, a revolutionary preforming technology that addresses this limiting factor and provides a route to achieving a new production rate for next-generation aircraft, in a more efficient way than any other available method. https://lnkd.in/e82a3wAd

🚀 Startup Spotlight 🚀 Rosatom Fuel Division - State-owned nuclear fuel division leveraging in-house additive manufacturing expertise to export turnkey AM centers for oil & gas spare parts, reducing lead times and import dependence. 🔍 Company Overview - CEO: Ilya Kavelashvili - Year Founded: - Location: Moscow, Russia - Team Size: - Webpage: https://rosatom.ru/en/ 🎯 What They Do - One-line Description: State-owned nuclear fuel division leveraging in-house additive manufacturing expertise to export turnkey AM centers for oil & gas spare parts, reducing lead times and import dependence. - Target Customers: Petrovietnam (oil & gas), other state-owned industrial enterprises in partner countries - Industry Verticals: Service 🚀 Achievements & Status - Current Stage/Status: Active - Major Milestones: - Key Investors: Signed MoU with Petrovietnam for AM center in Vietnam (2025); Site surveys scheduled for July 2026; Potential commissioning as early as 2027 - Basic Growth Metrics: 💡 Competitive Edge - How They Differentiate: Unlike Chinese OEMs selling machines, Rosatom offers a full turnkey solution including materials, training, and process qualification, backed by nuclear-grade quality standards. The phased approach reduces risk for first-time adopters. - Key Technological Advantage: Leverages Rosatom's decades of materials science and process qualification for nuclear-grade alloys, extended to oilfield-grade alloys. The business model is replicable by other state-owned entities but Rosatom's existing AM infrastructure and prior deployments in Belarus and India provide a head start. 📈 Funding & Partnerships - Total Funding Raised: - Latest Funding Round: - Key Investors: - Key Partnerships/Collaborations: Petrovietnam (MoU for AM center in Vietnam) Based on database updated on: 2026-07-01T16:31:58.205Z #Innovation #AM #3Dprinting Powered by #WeeklyVentures "Spot an error? Share your feedback to help us improve!" https://lnkd.in/grXdkeUB

The future of aerospace is shaped by research, collaboration and continuous improvement. 🚀 👉 In this video, the Technology Innovation Institute (TII) offers an inspiring look at the engineering expertise, teamwork and continuous iteration behind advanced composite manufacturing for aerospace applications. 🤝 Mikrosam is proud to support TII’s research capabilities by supplying an R&D Filament Winding Machine dedicated to the wet filament winding process. 🔬 By combining advanced research expertise with flexible manufacturing technology, new composite concepts can be tested, optimized and transformed into reliable engineering solutions. 🙌 Congratulations to the TII team on its inspiring work. Thank you for sharing this video. We look forward to following its continued progress and contribution to the future of aerospace innovation. #Mikrosam #TechnologyInnovationInstitute #EngineeringCollaboration #FilamentWinding #AdvancedComposites #AerospaceInnovation #ResearchAndDevelopment #AdvancedManufacturing

What does it take to build the next generation of aerospace technologies? Hear from Mohamed Nasr Saleh, Changze Sun, and Mohammed Almanzalawy as they discuss the engineering behind advanced composite manufacturing, the value of collaboration, and how every iteration helps shape the future of aerospace innovation at TII.

Precision engineering meets the future. 🚀 From aerospace and semiconductors to green energy, CNC Graphite Machinists are quietly shaping the next century of technology. This isn't just manufacturing—it's high-tolerance mastery of a material that thrives where others fail. Check out how these specialists are turning raw carbon into the foundation of tomorrow's innovations: https://lnkd.in/g-UURsE3 #CNCMachining #Graphite #AdvancedManufacturing #Engineering #PrecisionEngineering #TechInnovation