About Rapid Precision Castings: Foundry Company
The Future of Casting is Digital
Rapid Precision Castings is a U.S.-based digital foundry company delivering precision metal castings 10x faster at 50% lower cost than conventional methods — with zero tooling investment. Founded in Atlanta, GA, our software-defined Digital Foundry™ platform serves aerospace and defense primes, space programs, and industrial gas turbine manufacturers who demand precision, speed, and supply chain certainty.
Rapid Precision Castings is the production brand of DDM Systems, the inventor of LAMP™ and SLE™ technologies.
OUR STORY
Company History & Founders
Our story begins in 2006, when DARPA issued a call for Disruptive Manufacturing Technologies to transform high-precision component manufacturing fundamentally.
Dr. Suman Das answered with a proposal to revolutionize investment casting for the production of aircraft engine turbine blades. After five years of intensive research at Georgia Tech’s Direct Digital Manufacturing Laboratory, the team proved that ceramic 3D printing could achieve a 50% cost reduction and a 10x acceleration in casting lead times.
Rapid Precision Castings was founded in 2012 to commercialize this breakthrough — combining proprietary hardware, software, and materials into a vertically integrated platform.
Dr. Suman Das
Founder & CEO
Dr. Suman Das brings more than three decades of leadership in additive manufacturing, materials development, and advanced metal production. During his doctoral research at UT Austin, he helped develop selective laser sintering methods for titanium and superalloys, and he holds U.S. Patent 6,676,892 B2 for Direct Selective Laser Sintering of Metals — an innovation that continues to shape the future of the foundry industry, metal casting, and precision manufacturing technology.
TITLE
Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering Morris M. Bryan Jr. Chair in Mechanical Engineering for Advanced Manufacturing Systems
Education
PhD & MS, University of Texas at Austin (1998, 1996) · B.Tech, IIT Madras (1990)
Institution
Georgia Institute of Technology
Experience
35+ years in additive manufacturing R&D
Key Patent
US Patent 6,676,892 B2 – “Direct Selective Laser Sintering of Metals”
Pioneered
Metal selective laser sintering for titanium and superalloys
Dr. John Halloran
Co-Founder
Dr. John Halloran is the Van Vlack Professor Emeritus of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Michigan and served as department chair from 2000 to 2005. A Fellow of The American Ceramic Society, he pioneered ceramic photopolymerization techniques that became a core part of LAMP technology, supporting continued innovation in casting process development, foundry materials, and high-performance production.
TITLE
Van Vlack Professor Emeritus, Materials Science & Engineering
Education
PhD in Ceramics, MIT (1976)
Institution
University of Michigan (Dept. Chair, 2000–2005
Distinction
Fellow of The American Ceramic Society
Key Contribution
Invented ceramic photopolymerization – the foundational science behind LAMP™
Proprietary Technologies Overview
The Digital Foundry™ replaces physical tooling with digital precision — starting from a CAD file and delivering precision metal castings in days, not months. Three proprietary technology pillars power this platform: LAMP™ for ceramic shell production, DirectPour™ for end-to-end casting delivery, and SLE™ for superalloy repair and manufacturing.
LAMP™ Technology — Large Area Maskless Photopolymerization
LAMP™ is our flagship ceramic 3D printing technology that produces investment casting molds directly from CAD files — no tooling required. Key advantages include:
- Eliminates 7 of 12 traditional casting steps.
- Removes ~90% of scrap sources.
- Reduces ~⅓ of total manufacturing cost.
- Delivers a fully dense, ready-to-pour ceramic shell in days.
LAMP™ technical specifications at a glance:
-
Pixel Resolution
15 microns
-
Simultaneous UV Beams
4.1 million
-
Layer Thickness
50–100 microns
-
Positioning Accuracy
±2 microns
-
Daily Production Throughput
36,000 cm³ of printed molds
DirectPour™ Process
DirectPour™ is our end-to-end casting service built on LAMP™ technology — customers submit a CAD model, specify alloy and quantity, and we handle everything else:
- Shell Design — Engineers design optimized ceramic shells with integrated cores.
- 3D Printing — Shells are printed using LAMP™ with no wax patterns or separate core assembly.
- Thermal Processing — Binder burnout and high-temperature sintering are completed in-house.
- Delivery — Monolithic shells delivered "ready to pour" to foundry partners or poured directly at our facility.
- Flexibility — Compatible with both prototyping and full series production runs, with zero tooling investment.
SLE™ Technology — Scanning Laser Epitaxy
SLE™ is our metal additive manufacturing technology for high-performance superalloy components and additive repair. Using a controlled laser melt pool process, SLE™ delivers capabilities that conventional welding and additive methods cannot match:
- Microstructure Control — Produces equiaxed (EQ), directionally solidified (DS), or single crystal (SX) microstructures on demand.
- Non-Weldable Alloys — Successfully processes MAR-M247, René 80, and IN100 without cracking.
- Additive Repair — Restores high-value superalloy components that would otherwise be scrapped.
- Precision Melt Pool — Controlled laser process ensures repeatable, certified microstructure output.
Awards & Recognition
The highest levels of government and industry have validated our technologies. Key honors and funding milestones include:
Hermes Award Finalist (2016) — First U.S. company ever selected at Hannover Messe, the world's largest industrial trade fair; Dr. Das recognized by President Obama and Chancellor Merkel.
DARPA DMT — $6.3M in foundational funding (2007–2012).
ARPA-E with GE Vernova — $3.3M program award.
America Makes IMPACT 1.0 — $1.8M award.
America Makes IMPACT 2.0 — $500K award.
DOE HPC4EI Program — Partnership with Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Our intellectual property and industry standing at a glance:
Credential
Detail
Patents
26+ across six countries
Compliance
ITAR Registered
Memberships
America Makes (Silver), Defense Industrial Base Consortium, Cornerstone OTA
Partnership Ecosystem
Our foundry partnerships span the most demanding casting environments in the world. Core strategic relationships include:
Signicast (Form Technologies) — 4+ year partnership integrating ceramic 3D printing into high-volume North American investment casting workflows.
GE Vernova / GE Gas Power — Decade-long collaboration on investment casting of gas turbine components.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory — DOE HPC4EI Program partnership applying high-performance computing to optimize LAMP™ photopolymerization.
Defense & Aerospace Partnerships
Defense & Aerospace Partnerships
We have delivered precision castings across some of the most demanding platforms in the U.S. defense inventory:
USAF B-2 Spirit, A-10 Thunderbolt II, C-5 Galaxy — Spare parts castings.
Northrop Grumman — Hypersonic missile system castings.
Turbine engine and rocket engine castings development programs
76th CMXG, Tinker AFB — America Makes IMPACT collaboration to mature ceramic 3D printing for Air Force sustainment.
Strategic Customer Portfolio
Strategic Customer Portfolio
Our customers represent the most demanding programs in aerospace, defense, and industrial manufacturing:
Customer
Engagement
GE Vernova
Gas turbine casting — ongoing
U.S. Air Force / DoD
IMPACT programs + active base installations
Northrop Grumman
Hypersonic system components
Eaton Aerospace
Strategic partnership + UK Digital Foundry (15M, 2026)
Tinker AFB
Digital Foundry installation (7M, 2026–27)
Robins AFB
Digital Foundry installation (7M, 2027–28)
SpaceX, Airbus, Toyota, Moog
Active customer relationships