05/05/2026
Industry Recognition at RAPID + TCT 2026
REM Surface Engineering is proud to be recognized as a winning partner for the TCT Aerospace & Defence Application Award 2026. This honor was presented during the inaugural combined SME and TCT Awards gala held at the Omni Boston Hotel at the Seaport.
"It was an honor to attend and celebrate this achievement, led by Dr. Ryan Watkins of JPL, with so many of our industry colleagues. We thank the Rapid + TCT team for recognizing the importance of this work, which demonstrates what is possible with metal additive manufacturing and underscores the value of JPL’s efforts to advance the additive manufacturing industry."
- Justin Michaud, REM Surface Engineering
The award winning project, Crushable Lattices for Impact Attenuation, represents a significant advancement in material science and structural engineering. Working alongside the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory and nTop, the team developed titanium lattice energy absorbers designed for extreme performance requirements.
“This project showcases what becomes possible when cutting edge engineering design, metal-based additive manufacturing, and precision surface engineering are fully integrated. We’re proud to help set a new benchmark for energy absorbing structures. Our team embraced an extremely challenging problem, reducing the lattice structures mass to produce extremely light and thin struts uniformly within a complex lattice network, and delivered a solution that sets a new benchmark for energy absorbing components. We’re proud of the innovation this collaboration unlocked and excited for the role it will play in enabling the next generation of space exploration missions.”
- Dr. Agustin Diaz, REM Surface Engineering
The project utilized Laser-Based Powder Bed Fusion (PBF-LB) technology combined with specialized chemical polishing processes to achieve several milestones.
1. Ultralow Density: Structures were engineered at a 2% density while maintaining critical structural integrity
2. Weight Reduction: Solution delivers 50% mass savings compared to traditional aluminum alternatives
3. Precision Control: Advanced surface finishing and chemical polishing provided the necessary control over the LPBF structures to ensure NASA qualified performance
This collaboration demonstrates the importance of post-processing in the additive manufacturing ecosystem. By refining the surface and geometry of complex lattices, it is possible to unlock mechanical behaviors that were previously unachievable.
We are honored to contribute to the success of the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory and to support the evolution of aerospace defense applications through high performance surface engineering.
