From fighter jets to medical devices, today’s most advanced machines depend on parts as intricate as their missions. These components aren’t just geometrically complex — they’re made from specialized metals engineered to withstand extreme heat, friction, and wear. But that strength comes with a challenge. How do you shape metals tough enough to survive the heat of a jet engine? 

One solution is to start with a more moldable form of these super-metals: powder. In a specialized form of additive manufacturing (like 3D printing), manufacturers start with fine metal powders and fuse them, layer by layer, using focused energy. Known as powder bed fusion (PBF), this method enables highly complex shapes and reduces the amount of finishing work needed. Still, when a micron of extra material can make or break the final product, even near-perfect parts require precise finishing touches. 

“The introduction of new, exotic materials produced through additive manufacturing has brought unique challenges, especially for applications in space and missile systems,” says David Antonuccio, business development director at Halocarbon, a Georgia-based company producing advanced chemical solutions used in manufacturing and other fields. “While these materials offer distinct properties, they are notoriously difficult to machine.” 

That’s where the Georgia Tech Manufacturing Institute (GTMI) comes in. Through its Manufacturing 4.0 Consortium, GTMI connects industry manufacturers like Halocarbon with researchers and innovators to tackle real production challenges like this. Membership includes access to GTMI’s Advanced Manufacturing Pilot Facility (AMPF), where companies can test ideas and collaborate on new solutions. 

Halocarbon recently teamed up with Freemelt, a leader in producing PBF systems and a fellow consortium member, to address this bottleneck. Their goal: to determine whether Halocarbon’s specialized metalworking fluids could enhance the finishing process for PBF-manufactured parts made from tungsten and molybdenum, two high-temperature, hard-to-machine metals. 

“The future of manufacturing depends on how well we integrate talent, technology, and collaboration,” says Steven Ferguson, interim director of Research Operations at GTMI and managing director of the consortium. “By bringing companies together around shared challenges, we’re closing critical gaps and strengthening the nation’s advanced manufacturing capability.” 

Solving the Post-Processing Bottleneck 

Even with advanced methods like electron beam powder bed fusion (E-PBF), which uses an electron beam to fuse metal powders inside a vacuum chamber, finishing remains a critical hurdle. “Surface finish in powder bed fusion is fundamentally tied to the particle size of the metal powder,” says Ian Crawford, a materials and application engineer at Freemelt. “Post-processing will almost always be part of the equation for high-performance components.” 

In traditional machining, coolants and cutting fluids used in these finishing steps are often overlooked, and the methods haven’t changed much in decades. Halocarbon’s metalworking fluid aims to bring these fluids into a new era, using innovative polymer chemistry to extend tool life, improve surface quality, and boost efficiency when machining these challenging alloys. 

The two companies initiated their joint project during their free AMPF equipment use time, which comes with the full level of consortium membership. From there, GTMI designed and executed controlled studies comparing the use of Halocarbon’s fluids to two standard finishing methods, dry machining and EDM-based finishing. The results showed a 6% improvement in side milling and a 26% improvement in end milling versus dry machining, with even greater gains over EDM. These improvements translate into higher-quality parts, tighter specifications, lower scrap rates, extended tool life, and reduced downstream costs — exactly what aerospace and defense suppliers need to meet stringent requirements.  

The findings were shared at the 2025 National Space & Missile Materials Symposium, reinforcing the value of industry-academic collaboration. 

“Industry keeps pushing materials to handle more heat and stress, but that makes post-processing harder,” says Matt Carroll, one of the GTMI researchers on the project. “By bringing equipment makers and chemistry innovators into the same experiment, we were able to prove where the gains really are and give manufacturers data they can act on.” 

“No single manufacturing method solves every challenge,” says Crawford. “To achieve the performance and cost targets that aerospace and defense applications demand, we need to bring together the right combination of technologies, and collaborations like this show what's possible when we do.” 

The Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) proudly hosted U.S. Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro during his recent campus visit. Del Toro's visit underscored the critical role of innovation and technology in national security and highlighted Georgia Tech's significant contributions to this effort. 

 “Our Navy-Marine Corps Team remains at the center of global and national security — maintaining freedom of the seas, international security, and global stability,” he explained in his remarks at the John Lewis Student Center. “To win the fight of the future, we must embrace and implement emerging technologies.” 

The Secretary provided an update on science and technology research to the Atlanta Region Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps unit, comprised of midshipmen from Georgia Tech, Georgia State University, Kennesaw State University, Morehouse College, Spelman College, and Clark Atlanta University. Del Toro has worked to establish a new Naval Science and Technology Strategy to address current and future challenges faced by the Navy and Marine Corps. The strategy serves as a global call to service and innovation for stakeholders in academia, industry, and government.  

 “The Georgia Tech Research Institute has answered this call,” he said. 

A key pillar of the new strategy, says Del Toro, was the establishment of the Department of the Navy’s Science and Technology Board in 2023, “with the intent that the board provide independent advice and counsel to the department on matters and policies relating to scientific, technical, manufacturing, acquisition, logistics, medicine, and business management functions.” 

 The board, which includes Georgia Tech Manufacturing Institute (GTMI) Executive Director Thomas Kurfess, has conducted six studies in its inaugural year to identify new technologies for rapid adoption and provide near-term, practical recommendations for quick implementation by the Navy.  

 “I recently led the team for developing a strategy for integrating additive manufacturing into the Navy’s overall shipbuilding and repair strategy,” says Kurfess. “We just had final approval of our recommendations — we are making a significant impact on the Navy with respect to additive manufacturing.” 

 Del Toro's visit to Georgia Tech reaffirms the Institute's role as a leader in research and innovation, particularly in areas critical to national security. The collaboration between Georgia Tech and the Department of the Navy continues to drive advancements that ensure the safety and effectiveness of the nation's naval forces. 

“Innovation is at the heart of our efforts at Georgia Tech and GTMI,” says Kurfess. “It is an honor to put that effort toward ensuring our country’s safety and national security in partnership with the U.S. Navy.” 

 “As our department continues to reimagine and refocus our innovation efforts,” said Del Toro, “I encourage all of you — our nation’s scientists, engineers, researchers, and inventors — to join us.”  

Between revitalized investments in America’s manufacturing infrastructure and an increased focus on AI and automation, the U.S. is experiencing a manufacturing renaissance. A key focus of this resurgence lies in improving the resiliency of supply chains in the U.S., particularly in crucial sectors like defense.

“If we were to suddenly have a seismic shift in defense manufacturing needs,” asks Aaron Stebner, professor and Eugene C. Gwaltney Jr. Chair in Manufacturing in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, “do we have the supply chain and manufacturers who could meet that sudden increase in demand? How do we do that in a way that’s sustainable for long periods of time as a nation if that need arises?”

The Georgia Tech Manufacturing Institute (GTMI) officially launched the Manufacturing 4.0 Consortium in 2023 to address that need. Designed to form a network of engaged manufacturers from across the country, the Consortium serves as a key connection point between Georgia Tech and industry partners — and as fertile ground for collaborative innovation.

“By bringing us all together,” says Stebner, who serves on the board of the Consortium, “we can do bigger, more meaningful things and find unique ways and opportunities to get money flowing back to the companies and Georgia Tech.”

With over 25 founding company members, the Consortium celebrated its first official year of operation in August. 

Creating a Resilient Network 

The Manufacturing 4.0 Consortium originally grew out of an 18-month pilot project funded by the Department of Defense Office of Local Community Cooperation aiming to increase defense supply chain resilience, assist Georgia manufacturers in adopting new technologies, and foster collaboration by connecting manufacturers across Georgia. 

Those goals and more are tackled by the Consortium’s focus on “networking, engagement, and collaboration,” says Stebner. “It's not just a consortium for Georgia Tech to take money from industry and do stuff with their money — the goal is to create new resources that enable us to collaborate in bigger ways than we could otherwise.” 

To join the Consortium, industry members pay up to $10,000 annually to access its network, intellectual property, and facilities. With a 10% membership discount for Georgia businesses and a 75% discount for small businesses, the Consortium especially aims to promote growth for small Georgia manufacturers. 

“Memberships come with time at the Advanced Manufacturing Pilot Facility, which we’re expanding to be this test bed for autonomous maturation of research and development,” says Stebner. “The fact that we have what’s going to be an almost $60 million facility behind us as a mechanism and a playground for all these companies is unique.” 

“Having a shared use facility that is fully equipped to solve manufacturing’s most interesting challenges is not only a perk of Consortium memberships,” said Executive Director Steven Ferguson, “but it also serves as a hub for innovation in manufacturing.” 

Industry Innovation 

Many consortiums founded by academic institutions are primarily focused on academic research. 

“The Manufacturing 4.0 consortium has an industry focus,” said Branden Kappes, founder and president of Consortium member company Contextualize LLC. “It's more about how we take this capability that, at the moment, is trapped in a lab and transition from a wonderful concept into a wonderful product.” 

The Consortium achieves that translation through shared intellectual property agreements, collaborative research initiatives, and an emphasis on creating an engaged and open network of members.  

“I see camaraderie inside the Manufacturing 4.0 Consortium,” says Kappes. “I see companies that overlap and compete in some areas, are complementary in others, and are willing to build a bridge to advance the capabilities of both sides and the community as a whole. That type of mentality is very exciting.” 

“This is one of the most highly engaged groups I have interacted with in a professional setting,” said John Flynn, vice president of Sales at Consortium member company Endeavor 3D. “It is an incredibly dynamic melting pot of all the different facets of industry 4.0 and digital manufacturing, bringing everyone together from that part of the supply chain to create what I know will be important and value-added projects, ultimately resulting in intellectual property.” 

“We are able to connect Consortium members with subject matter experts at Georgia Tech and within the Consortium who have ‘been there and done that,’” said Ferguson. “At the same time, we are working with manufacturers to create novel solutions to complex problems through research engagements. Blending all of those activities into one organization is part of the magic that is the Consortium.”