We fix the supply chain for metal parts by developing more efficient (cheaper, cleaner, faster) manufacturing processes based on lost foam investment casting and 3D printing.
Skuld was founded by 2 metallurgists who did consulting to fund R&D into the AMEC process. Skuld was mothballed 20 months during COVID. The CEO went to work at Fabrisonic, a 3D printing company, and the value of the process became clear compared to other metal additive processes. Skuld was restarted in December 2021 with the CTO joining fulltime in January 2023 when we installed a small demo plant.
In fall 2024 we installed 8000 tons of melting capacity. The first problem is the existential crisis caused by global warming.
Metal manufacturing contributes 14% of global warming gases which is second only to the transportation industry.
Generally, no one will pay extra for greener technology for producing metal parts unless forced to. Thus, much like hiding vegetables in food for toddlers, we have to add in the Cleantech while solving other problems from the customer’s point of view.
The customer’s problem is that domestic supply chains for metal parts are dysfunctional. There is a lack of US capacity, casting lead times can be 6-24+ months, small batches are too costly, and for the Department of Defense castings and forgings are considered critical risk items.
All of these things have led people to attempt metal additive manufacturing processes such as powder bed fusion. However, those processes cost 50-200 times as much as normal, are extremely slow producing a few pounds of parts per day, and can cost millions and take months to pass quality requirements, a problem known as qualification.
Skuld was co-founded by Sarah Jordan (CEO) and Mark DeBruin (CTO) who are both metallurgists. They have been married 26 years and this is their 4th startup together. Sarah’s expertise is aerospace, quality, forecasting, marketing. She has an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University. Mark is one of the leading experts in casting and heat treating technologies. He is the former CTO of Thermal Process Holdings and was the GM of SST Vietnam where he started up a 350 automotive foundry now owned by Nissan.
The team has numerous advisors including from Dayton Entrepreneur Center, BRITE Energy Innovators, Innovation Crossroads, Icorps, UTK’s Spark Cleantech Accelerator as well as CPA, banker, and patent attorneys.
The team has several outside contractors with expertise in AI, computational materials modeling, and tooling design. They also have 15 employees including mechanical engineers, manufacturing engineers, maintenance, project management, quality management, and operators.
Stage 1. Use DOD to fund much of the R&D. We are doing a tremendous amount in the DOD space having won $9M in contracts that we are ramping up in fall of 2024. This is heavily based on personal relationships developed over several years at trade shows and networking. Some of this will move to Stage 2 or 3.
Stage 2. Use trade shows and direct sales to drive AMEC for Low Volume High Mix applications. This includes tooling, replacement parts, and prototypes.
Stage 3. Scale customer orders to standard Lost foam investment casting with AMEC based tooling. This could be parts from Stage 1 or 2 or existing medium to high volume commercial parts that can benefit from net shape casting. For commercial work we primarily rely on commission based manufacturing trade reps and extensive internet marketing via LinkedIn.
Stage 4. Equipment and licensing sales. This is just starting with the Lightning Metal as well as other equipment in the quoting process. At some point this may be done through 3rd party resellers. Went through the Mid-South Hub Icorps at UTK in Fall 2023 for equipment.
Stage 5. Longer term software licensing to enable end to end process. We have partnerships with Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, and Oak Ridge National Lab. We have 4 current manufacturing reps and have quoted over $20M in commercial sales in the past year, primarily in heavy equipment and transportation. We have several current commercial customers and an extensive pipeline of future work."
During quoting, we target at least 40% gross margin on production castings, 50% on the AMEC parts (or more depending on what the market will bear and the customer’s alternative if they will tell us), and 80% margin on equipment. We also currently have substantial DOD research projects but are working to scale the commercial business. We currently have 3 production parts with orders that are waiting on the plant equipment to be sufficiently installed and in the first article phase. We also have 2 more from Caterpillar that have been awarded. In the long run we also plan to offer software and would like to offer the option of a Priceline type option for customers to submit the price that they would be willing to pay for urgently needed castings or other metal parts.
We are seeking a $8M Series A at $40M valuation. This will be used towards:
- Capital equipment including automation, installing additional capacity at the current facility, bringing in finishing processes. •
- Technology development including computational modeling software to enable end to end digital engineering.
- Sales and Marketing staff to continue to scale.
The key is where we are going. The goal is for complete digital engineering, being able to go from 3D scan of a legacy part or CAD model of a new design, to generate the complete process parameters necessary to produce complex metal geometries without tooling, correctly the first time, every time in as fast as 4 hours, and for the same or lower costs than traditional manufacturing. The best results to date enabled an 85 lb. steel part to be produced in 11 hours for $4 per pound.
We are working to determine the process capability limits. The process has been demonstrated in a wide range of metals including steel, iron, aluminum, copper, brass, and nickel alloys. We have done parts as thin as 1 mm fins but heavier section parts are easier. While some parts may work the first time, often it is necessary to do repeated trials to dial in the process.
In addition to using the process to make components, we have begun developing the Lightning MetalTM for others to use the process. This is essentially a microfoundy. The beta unit is slated to go to UTK in early 2025. We also have a Phase II SBIR with the Air Force to develop a variation capable of producing aerospace quality aluminum.
As part of the ORNL Innovation Crossroads program we are beginning development of computational modeling software. As part of the DARPA project we are developing AI materials testing software.
~$11M in grants and other nondilutive funding. Various Grants and Prizes: $500,000 including DOE HeroX Prize Innovations in Additive Manufacturing for Hydropower, Worcester Polytechnic Institute Kalenian Award, Flyer Pitch Prize, MAGNET mSPIRE Pitch competition, Jobs Ohio Grant, Icorps travel grant, $800,000 in projects through America Makes $500,000 value of DOE Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Innovation Crossroads Lab Embedded Entrepreneur Program. $1,290,000 in DOE and DOD SBIR’s plus additional Phase II from the Marines that is awarded and in the contracting process for an additional $1,500,000. Recent DARPA project contract for Rubble to Rockets for $6.4M.
