MELD Manufacturing
MELD Manufacturing offers 3D printing and hybrid machines for printing metal components using a patented solid-state, non-melting process.
- CEO / Founder
- Nanci Hardwick
- Team Size
- 11-50
- Stage
- Active
- Total Funding
- $1.5M
- Latest Round
- Undisclosed
- Key Investors
- Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP); U.S. Army; U.S. Navy; NASA; U.S. Air Force
Technology & Products
Key Products
MELD Manufacturing offers 3D printing and hybrid machines for printing metal components. The company has also spun off MELD PrintWorks Corporation, which utilizes MELD® 3D patented printing technology.
Technological Advantage
Enables open-atmosphere operation, scalability, and production of higher reliability metal components.
Patent position
MELD Manufacturing’s Equipment focus fell from 100% of filed patent families in 2019-2021 to 65% in 2022-2024. AMPulse analysis
- Filing momentum
- 24 families filed 2022–2024, 7 in 2019–2021
- Focus, 2019–2021 → 2022–2024
- Equipment 100% → 65%
- Filed in
- US 38%EP 29%WO 29%CN 4%
45 AM patent families in total. Recent years are still being published, so read a filing change against the same-office figure.
Differentiation
Value Proposition
Enables production of metal parts without melting, resulting in stronger, higher quality components with open-atmosphere processing and scalability.
How They Differentiate
Utilizes a non-melting, solid-state process that produces stronger, more reliable metal parts compared to conventional melting-based additive manufacturing.
Market & Competition
Target Customers
Industries requiring large-scale metal components, including defense and aerospace sectors
Industry Verticals
Aerospace, Defense, Manufacturing
Competitors
Traditional metal 3D printing companies
Growth & Milestones
Growth Metrics
Estimated annual revenue of $11.3M, with a $975 million U.S. Air Force Rapid Sustainment Office contract announced in 2024, and awards including Mil AM 2024 Technical Achievement and Coolest Thing Made in Virginia in 2024.
Major Milestones
Spun off MELD PrintWorks Corporation, Awarded significant defense contracts
Notable Customers
U.S. Air Force; U.S. Army
AM patents
AM-relevant patents linked to this company.
- Patents
- 45
- Granted
- 5
- Families
- 45
Leading domains: process (40), material (34), equipment (29)
Filings by year: 2025: 1 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 12 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 3
- TITANIUM ALLOY PARTS PRODUCED USING SOLID STATE ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING4780998 · EP
- Process control systems and methods using a solid-state additive manufacturing system and continuous feeding systems and structures11642838 · US
- 7075-TYPE ALUMINUM ALLOY PRODUCTS PRODUCED USING SOLID STATE MANUFACTURING04605161 · EP
- SOLID-STATE JOINING OF FEATURES TO CAST PARTS20240100624 · US
- SOLID STATE MANUFACTURING TOOLS AND METHODS USING THEM20250222504 · US
Funding rounds
- ContractUndisclosed2024-08Source: MELD Manufacturing - August 2024
- Cooperative AgreementUndisclosed2022-08Source: HigherGov - August 2022
- Contract$1.5M2021-03Source: MELD Manufacturing - March 2021
- GrantUndisclosed2018-08Source: 3dprint.com - August 2018
Equipment deals on record
Publicly disclosed purchases or installs only.
- AM equipment system
Not disclosed
Buyer: University of Sydney (Sydney Manufacturing Hub) · Supplier: MELD Manufacturing Corporation