3D printing startup ADS secures partnership with HP shortly after launching

The founders of a new additive manufacturing startup in Michigan are leveraging a partnership with HP Inc. to innovate in the 3D printing space.

Brandon Teets and Tyler Marvin recently launched Accel Digital Solutions (ADS) at the beginning of 2024, basing their operations out of a facility in Walker, Mich.

ADS uses 3D printing to design and produce various types of complex parts and components for customers in the health care, aerospace, defense, automotive, sports, marine and consumer goods industries.

Through an exclusive arrangement with HP's personalization and 3D printing business, ADS will test HP's latest 3D printing material advancements in North, Central, and South America, and help bring those to market.

Teets and Marvin said the new partnership stemmed from an ongoing relationship Marvin has had with HP, and that the relationship has grown since the launch of ADS.

"I think they've seen … how we're applying the technology and the materials to different products and applications for end use," Teets told Crain's Grand Rapids Business, a sister publication of Plastics News.

ADS will serve as one of the sole manufacturers of new multi-jet fusion materials, such as the newly introduced nylon 12 , PA12Smooth, from HP that smooths coated or finished components.

Marvin said the partnership will give ADS more visibility as well as engineering support if needed on their own projects.

"Our goal is to bring them complex projects that would entail using them to bring products to market, and with that grow our company and also give us visibility with them on the projects we are doing," Marvin said.

François Minec, head of 3D polymers at HP's personalization & 3D printing business, said in a statement that the company is eager to see the projects and applications ADS will undertake through the new partnership.

"Accel Digital Solutions is at the forefront of 3D printing innovation, leveraging our PA12 Smooth material to explore uncharted territories in manufacturing," Minec said. "Their enthusiasm and pioneering approach are exactly what the industry needs to propel forward."

For Teets and Marvin, who previously worked together at Cascade Township, Mich.-based ADAC Automotive, launching ADS stemmed from a goal to offer an efficient solution to a common challenge: supply chain disruptions.

"What started Accel Digital Solutions is the evolution of manufacturing, and one process that kind of sparked further interest for us was supply chain issues and constraints through COVID," Teets said.

Combining decades of experience in manufacturing and product development, Teets and Marvin said they are familiar with common challenges engineers face related to design and launch.

Teets, the son of former ADAC President and CEO Jim Teets, worked at ADAC for more than a decade in various roles, focusing more recently on additive manufacturing prior to the launch of ADS.

Additive manufacturing allows companies to design and produce components in a timelier fashion than through traditional processes like tooling, which tends to take weeks or months for larger programs, the founders said.

The technology also generally allows for more consistent costs and pricing compared to fluctuations involved in other processes.

"A lot of people are not wanting to invest heavily in capital right now, so using additive as a starting point to prove your products to the market is a good way to do it," Marvin said.

Teets said ADS brings to the table more timeliness and efficiency to produce or replicate parts for prototyping or production.

"As additive manufacturing continues to grow and evolve, we wanted to be on the front end of that," Teets said.

Looking ahead, Teets aims to grow ADS through local partnerships with larger manufacturing companies as well as potential talent recruitment from area colleges and universities.

The founders also said ADS intends to function as an incubator for businesses in the area to help develop and launch products, either through additive manufacturing or traditional processes.

"We are willing to review projects with customers and tell them if there's a fit or not or help them through that path, help them get to a goal," Marvin said.