Additive Manufacturing

Delivering Innovative, Mission-Ready Solutions

We provide expertise in material development and customization, design optimization, production, and characterization of metal and polymer parts made via additive manufacturing. APL engineers and technicians blend design innovation with technical execution to deliver critical contributions to our nation's critical challenges.

Expertise in Action

Featured Work

We provide full-spectrum support for mission-critical efforts in space, defense, and national security. Leveraging state-of-the-art equipment and deep cross-domain expertise, our team transforms novel concepts into flight- and field-qualified solutions, supporting programs from satellites to submarines with speed and reliability.

Machinery Repairman 1st Class Cory Hover demonstrates the software used to design the sprayer plate

Enhancing Naval Readiness with Onboard 3D Printing Solutions

Implementing onboard 3D printing systems to enable ships to produce essential parts at sea, thereby enhancing operational readiness and reducing maintenance delays

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Creating Coatings for Extreme Environments

The leading edges of hypersonics vehicles—as well as fins, control surfaces, and apertures—need to be protected against speeds exceeding Mach 5, temperatures well above 1,000 degrees Celsius, oxidation from the atmosphere, and tremendous aerodynamic shear loads. Custom materials can enable mission success in these extreme environments.

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Researchers cut and assembled tiny solar cells on thin, flexible circuit boards before sealing them in a protective polymer to create a fiber-like strand that was woven with nylon into a small textile.

Developing Battery- and Solar-Powered Fibers

APL researchers have established new, scalable methods of developing battery- and solar-powered fibers, making it theoretically possible for electrical energy to be harvested from, and stored in, the clothing people wear.

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Revolutionizing Materials Discovery for National Security

APL is reimagining and accelerating the targeted discovery of materials tailored to withstand and perform in the most demanding conditions, ensuring enhanced capabilities in extreme environments.

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Boundary Layer Transition (BOLT)

Advancing hypersonic vehicle design through boundary layer transition research

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Precision, Quality, and Responsiveness

Capabilities

Rapid Material Development

Accelerated creation and quick-turn fabrication of novel metal alloys tailored to specific applications

Additive Manufacturing Design

Expert guidance on design principles and strategies to optimize parts for additive processes

Hardware Fabrication

End-to-end fabrication solutions, from early prototype to fully qualified space-ready hardware

Qualification of Additive Parts

Comprehensive support navigating standards to deliver reliable, high-performance parts

Metal Additive Manufacturing

Production of metal components using laser powder bed fusion and directed energy deposition

Polymer Additive Manufacturing

Fused deposition modeling, stereolithography and selective laser sintering for prototypes, precision parts, and durability

We envision a paradigm shift where future additive manufacturing systems can adjust as they print, ensuring perfect quality without the need for extensive post-processing and that parts can be born qualified.

Steven Storck Chief Scientist, Additive Manufacturing

Contact Us

A group of APL staff members work together in a computer lab

Let's Solve the Nation's Challenges Together

APL meets critical national challenges through the innovative application of science and technology.

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Sailors aboard the Virginia-class attack submarine USS Texas (SSN 775) prepare to depart Portsmouth Naval Shipyard following critical repairs and system upgrades. (Credit: U.S. Navy)

Johns Hopkins APL, Navy Team up to Advance Additive Manufacturing for Critical Missions Jun 17, 2025

APL is working with the Naval Sea Systems Command to prove that additive manufacturing can consistently deliver mission-critical components, reducing logistics delays and enhancing fleet readiness.

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Brendan Croom, a senior materials scientist at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, is pictured in APL’s X-ray Computed Tomography Laboratory

AI Reveals New Way to Strengthen Titanium Alloys and Speed Up Manufacturing Mar 6, 2025

Johns Hopkins researchers have leveraged artificial intelligence to uncover faster, more efficient ways to manufacture titanium alloy parts while maximizing mechanical performance.

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The melt pool microstructure of a precipitation-strengthened nickel-base superalloy

Scientists Fuse Simulations and Machine Learning to Accelerate Novel Additively Manufactured Materials Oct 9, 2024

A new Johns Hopkins APL-led study shows how machine learning can be used to predict the microstructures produced by a widely used additive manufacturing technique. This novel approach promises to dramatically reduce the cost of and time spent developing materials with tailored physical properties and will soon be implemented on a NASA-funded effort focused on creation of a digital twin.

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Lisa Pogue melts an alloy of zirconium and titanium in the arc melter.

Johns Hopkins APL Forges Pathway to Stronger Alloys for Extreme Environments Jul 15, 2024

APL researchers are accelerating multi-principal element alloy (MPEA) design by creating complex microstructures that provide composition information from only a few samples. The researchers developed a design capability to synthesize 17 unique MPEA compositions and present characterization data on over 7,000 unique data points.

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Catching Additive Manufacturing Flaws with Nanoseconds to Spare May 9, 2024

Additive manufacturing has significant potential to strengthen the United States’ manufacturing base, but flaws within additively manufactured parts are preventing widespread adoption. Johns Hopkins APL experts are addressing this issue by developing sensors capable of identifying and preventing these flaws before they occur.

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Related Labs and Facilities

Design, Engineering, and Fabrication

Learn more about our labs, expertise, and capabilities in design, engineering, and fabrication.

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