Beehive Industries Buys Two Nikon SLM NXG 600E Metal 3D Printers

A Big Bet on Big Metal Prints

Beehive Industries is not waiting to see which metal additive manufacturing platform wins. The Colorado company has ordered two NXG 600E systems from Nikon SLM Solutions, adding to a $50 million EOS investment it announced just last month. One NXG 600E will run Constellium's Aheadd CP1 aluminum; the other will run titanium Ti-64.

The NXG 600E is the largest machine Nikon SLM Solutions builds. Its build envelope measures 600 x 600 x 1500 mm and it carries 12 1kW lasers. That is enough volume and power to print whole vehicle bodies and large satellite substructures in a single job, which is exactly the market Beehive is chasing.

Defense and Aerospace Focus

Beehive describes the purchase as self-funded and calls the capability "elite" and currently limited in the United States. The company has built its reputation around propulsion hardware, and it sees a direct overlap between that customer base and the demand for advanced aerospace structures.

"There is a heavy overlap between the customers who rely on Beehive's propulsion solutions and those who require advanced aerospace printed solutions," said Darius Ehteshami, Beehive's Chief Operations and Finance Officer. "By investing proactively in these machines, Beehive is uniquely positioned to provide aerostructures and parts that enable our customers to fly higher and fly faster."

Hamid Zarringhalam, CEO of Nikon Advanced Manufacturing, added that defense programs need manufacturing technology that can scale quickly and reliably. The deal, he said, is a step toward "delivering the advanced manufacturing capabilities that are crucial to the United States and our allied partners."

What Comes Next

With 30 EOS machines on the way plus two NXG 600E systems, Beehive is building one of the larger independent metal AM footprints in the U.S. defense supply chain. The aluminum and titanium split matters: aluminum keeps weight down for airframes and satellite parts, while titanium handles heat and stress in propulsion and high-performance hardware.

The bigger question is whether Beehive can keep all that capacity fed with qualified, profitable work. Large-format metal printing is expensive to install and even more expensive to operate. If the order book is there, Beehive's dual-platform strategy gives it room to bid on an unusually wide range of defense and aerospace contracts.