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ORNL, Cincinnati Incorporated sign additive manufacturing patent license agreement

ORNL and Cincinnati Incorporated have signed a nonexclusive licensing agreement on ORNL patents related to large-scale additive manufacturing.

OAK RIDGE, Tenn., May 30, 2016 – The Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Cincinnati Incorporated of Harrison, Ohio, have signed a nonexclusive licensing agreement on ORNL patents related to large-scale additive manufacturing.

ORNL is a research leader in the production of large-scale 3-D printed materials, refining industrial processes to decrease costs and increase efficiency. Under the agreement, Cincinnati Incorporated may make, use or sell the lab’s patented developments of enhanced additive manufacturing with a reciprocating platen that enables the manufacture of parts much larger and with higher quality than current standards.

The speed of next-generation additive manufacturing offers new opportunities for the automotive, aerospace and prototyping industries, said Lonnie Love, leader of ORNL’s Manufacturing Systems Research group.

“Our goal is to demonstrate the potential of large-scale additive manufacturing as an innovative and viable manufacturing technology,” Love said. “We want to improve digital manufacturing solutions for the automotive industry.”

The additive manufacturing agreement is the latest in a series of ORNL advances that include the production of a 3-D printed vehicles at DOE’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility, at ORNL, including a reproduction Shelby Cobra that debuted in early 2015.

A portfolio of ORNL patents associated with large-scale additive manufacturing is available for licensing on a nonexclusive basis. ORNL and UT-Battelle work closely with licensees to ensure successful commercialization of licensed technologies. More information concerning licensing of ORNL technologies can be obtained at www.ornl.gov/partnerships/technology-licensing.

Founded in the late 1890s as the Cincinnati Shaper Company, Cincinnati Incorporated is one of a handful of U.S.-based, build-to-order machine tool manufacturers. The company has shipped more than 50,000 machines in more than 100 years of operation.

This technology development was supported by DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy – Advanced Manufacturing Office (AMO). AMO supports applied research, development and demonstration of new materials and processes for energy efficiency in manufacturing as well as platform technologies for the manufacturing of clean energy products.

ORNL is managed by UT-Battelle for the Department of Energy's Office of Science, the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States. DOE’s Office of Science is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit energy.gov/science.