Solidica Awarded Phase II STTR Contract to Develop Next Generation Rapid Prototyping and Tooling Capability

Advanced support material system to expand 3D metal fabrication horizons

ANN ARBOR, Mich., March 8 -- Solidica today announced the award of a 24 month, $468,233 project from the National Science Foundation to develop a next generation support material delivery system for its Formation(TM) product platform. The Phase II STTR program, a collaborative effort with Clemson University, represents the commercialization stage of a successful NSF-funded Phase I feasibility demonstration which concluded late last year. Dr. Dawn White, Solidica CEO commented, "The implementation of a fully automated support material delivery system will increase the geometry capability of our technology by over 150% for many of our customers. The equivalent impact in the 2D world would be like going from a dot matrix plotter to a full color laser printer." Dr. Eric Austin, lead researcher for Clemson added, "Our technical challenge is to predict how the dynamics of build geometries interacts with the ultrasonic excitations of Solidica's consolidation process. If successful, our models will lead to unprecedented design freedom for additive metal manufacturing." Solidica noted that the addition of a fully automated support material system will allow it to rapidly expand its Formation(TM) product line into new markets, such as medical devices, thermal management, and microfluidics. This market expansion will be in addition to the immediate utility of the expanded geometrical capability for their core rapid aluminum tooling customers.

While full details are not currently being disclosed, Solidica added that the development of this capability will serve as the basis for a next generation product line offering planned for a 2007 commercial launch. Dr. White notes, "There is an incredible pent up worldwide demand for a solid state, highly accurate, layered metal fabrication system with the ability to make nearly any shape that can be conceived of in the mind of a designer. The results of this program, combined with other concurrent development efforts within Solidica, will allow us to be uniquely positioned to dominate this market void and unlock new manufacturing horizons."

About Solidica

Headquartered in Ann Arbor, MI, Solidica is a rapidly growing technology company that provides advanced materials, electronics and solid-state fabrication solutions. Their proprietary Ultrasonic Consolidation technology combines the ability to quickly "grow" dense metal parts, novel materials, and injection tools with the option of embedding fibers and advanced wireless electronics. The company leverages its expanding internal research and product development resources to provide customers with innovative solutions in industries such as aerospace, automotive, medical, rapid prototyping/tooling, electronics, and military. Visit their website at http://www.solidica.com/ for more information or contact Ken Johnson at (734) 222-4680 x114.