# Overview America Makes has launched a Member Showcase series designed to give its members a platform to present additive manufacturing technologies, share accomplishments, and discuss collaboration opportunities. The inaugural session will be a virtual webinar on Oct. 21 at 1 p.m., featuring Pierre Devaux of SPEE3D. The talk is titled "Rethink Your Research: How Cold Spray Manufacturing Opens Up Unique Opportunities."
# What the session will cover The webinar will explain how cold spray manufacturing is being applied by academic and defense organizations for metal part production and application development. Planned topics include:
- Core process capabilities and material range.
- Applications such as coatings, cladding, and full metal part production.
- Case studies that involve demanding operational environments.
- Alloy research directions and opportunities for application development.
# What cold spray manufacturing is (summary) Cold spray deposits solid feedstock particles onto a substrate using high-velocity gas streams. According to America Makes' description, the process can work with a range of materials and deliver practical advantages:
- Deposition rates up to 6 kilograms per hour.
- Ability to operate in extreme environments — desert, arctic, and marine — without requiring inert gas conditions.
# Application areas highlighted The webinar will present concrete application areas where cold spray is being explored or used:
- Military platforms: repair, refurbishment, or parts production in field or austere environments.
- Fusion and nuclear reactors: material repair or protective coatings in demanding service conditions.
- Hypersonics: component fabrication or surface treatments for extreme thermal and mechanical loads.
- Semiconductor cooling: metallurgical approaches to thermal management.
The session will include case studies focused on demanding operational environments and an overview of alloy research and application development opportunities.
# Who should attend
# Practical takeaways for attendees
- Direct exposure to current cold spray capabilities and material throughput figures.
- Examples of real-world uses across defense, energy, and advanced electronics sectors.
- Insight into alloy research needs and potential collaboration topics for application development.
# How to join America Makes asks interested participants to register online for the virtual discussion. The announcement identifies the date and start time as Oct. 21 at 1 p.m.
# Why this matters for researchers and program managers Cold spray's combination of relatively high deposition rates and the ability to operate without inert atmospheres broadens where and how metal deposition and repair can be applied. For teams working on field repair, reactor maintenance, hypersonic component testing, or thermal management in electronics, the webinar aims to bridge process capabilities and application requirements.
# Closing note This Member Showcase is the first in a series meant to spotlight member technologies and to open discussions about collaboration and research directions. The initial session focuses on practical aspects of cold spray that may inform both near-term projects and longer-term alloy development efforts.