Divergent Technologies has announced a strategic partnership with Raytheon to enhance naval systems engineering by leveraging the Divergent Adaptive Production System (DAPS) for digital manufacturing. This innovative technology is designed to maintain and upgrade essential systems, allowing for significant redesigns of components, the consolidation of parts, and streamlined assembly processes.
One of the key advantages of this collaboration is its capacity for scalable production, which eliminates the need for dedicated tools or traditional supply chains. This capability supports rapid development cycles and simplifies adaptations for various operational missions. Lukas Czinger, CEO of Divergent, emphasized the effectiveness of their integrated digital production system, noting that it not only extends the life of existing platforms but also meets pressing operational requirements.
The partnership has already yielded impressive results. Within five months, a legacy design was successfully adapted for scalable manufacturing without the need for the original tooling or production setups. Czinger highlighted how they transformed an archaic blueprint into an optimized, digital-first design, subsequently producing flight-ready hardware using a cutting-edge, software-defined manufacturing process.
Another significant achievement involved the redesign of a legacy Raytheon effector, which led to an 80 percent reduction in the airframe’s part count. Barbara Borgonovi, president of Naval Power at Raytheon, remarked on the potential of their agile collaboration to accelerate the delivery of capabilities and its applications across the broader Raytheon portfolio.
The Divergent Adaptive Production System (DAPS) employs AI-powered engineering software to create designs that maximize both performance and manufacturing limitations. Once generated, these digital designs are sent directly to 3D printers that produce individual structural nodes using application-specific alloys at industrial-scale speeds. The final step in this process involves a fully software-driven robotic assembly system that connects the printed nodes into the completed structure, discarding the need for custom tooling and facilitating quick, flexible, and efficient production.
