Hexagon Partners With Divergent on Sustainable Manufacturing
Divergent has developed an alternative production process to traditional vehicle manufacturing that addresses economic and environmental challenges.
Hexagon AB, a leader in digital reality solutions combining sensor, software and autonomous technologies, announces an investment in Divergent Technologies Inc., a leader of green manufacturing technologies with the first modular digital factory for the automotive industry.
Divergent has developed an alternative production process to traditional vehicle manufacturing called DAPS (Divergent Adaptive Production System) that addresses economic and environmental challenges. DAPS is a fully integrated software and hardware solution, creating a complete modular digital factory for complex structures. The patented process combines AI-optimized generative design software, additive manufacturing (AM) and automated assembly to build lightweight automotive parts and frames.
The design software is designed to optimize the weight, strength and cost of vehicle models. Parts are 3D printed and assembled autonomously, reducing manufacturing time and human intervention. Regardless of the design, part manufacturing and assembly can be carried out using the same hardware infrastructure, enabling quick design iterations or seamless switches between different vehicle models without downtime. The design-agnostic process is said to be less energy- and resource-intensive, deliver more efficient structures faster and achieve weight reductions between 20% and 70%, leading to dramatic improvements in vehicle efficiency.
“Manufacturing a car’s parts has a much greater impact on the environment than the car’s exhaust emissions, which is why new manufacturing concepts will win,” Hexagon President and CEO Ola Rollén says. “We must find ways to empower car makers with more efficient and environmentally friendly manufacturing processes that minimize material usage and total system cost. Incremental steps are simply not enough to save the planet.”
“While the steep climb in emissions over the last 30 years happened on our watch, none of us want to go down in history as the CO2 Generation — the one that polluted and warmed this planet,” Rollén continues. “For that reason, Hexagon continues to invest in disruptive and unconventional technologies that make giant leaps forward. We are the perfect partner to ensure quality is delivered throughout this new, innovative manufacturing process.”
“We are humbled and honoured to be partnering with Hexagon” Kevin Czinger, Divergent’s founder and CEO, says. “Having their vote of confidence in what we’ve built and our vision for the future of manufacturing brings new energy and enthusiasm to our team.”
“This significant investment will allow us to accelerate our plans to build a global network of DAPS factories, each serving multiple OEM clients,” Lukas Czinger, Divergent’s senior vice president of operations and Czinger Vehicles co-founder, says. “We look forward to a long-term relationship with Hexagon as Divergent and Czinger Vehicles scale.”
