Agile Ultrasonics specializes in the development, design, and manufacture of cutting-edge robotic end effectors for mission-critical polymer composite joining applications. Our technology is deployed in tier-one aerospace, US Air Force, and NASA programs. Applications include continuous ultrasonic welding (CUW), shaping, and compacting of high-performance carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastic (TP) composites for terrestrial and space applications.
**INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY / USE OF FUNDS**
Agile Ultrasonics is backed by Ohio-based angel investors and venture capital firms Rev1 Ventures and JumpStart Ventures and has raised $1M to date. We have an open round and term sheet offering preferred equity available and are actively seeking capital to fund the expansion of our engineering and business development efforts.
**GO TO MARKET / PRODUCT**
Agile Ultrasonics’ go-to-market strategy includes welding system sales, in-house manufacturing as a service, and intellectual property (IP) licensing. Our modular approach to system design supports a dual-use suite of products that are marketed across diverse manufacturing sectors. Agile’s product offering is a robot-agnostic head or end effector that can be easily adapted to diverse manufacturing environments. Sales and integration occur in collaboration with robotic industry partners and the customer’s in-house engineering and robotic systems support team.
**APPLICATIONS & MATERIALS**
Application areas include in-situ welding, consolidating, shaping, sealing, cutting, or compacting along with 3D print applications for lightening and strengthening. Carbon fiber, nylon, or glass reinforced composites across nearly all TP matrixes represent potential use cases. Applicable resin matrixes include high-performance resin systems such as PEEK, LM PAEK, PEKK, PEI, and commodity resin systems such as PC, ABS, and PPV. Aerospace, automotive, industrial, and consumer products and packaging are relevant market segments.
**WHY AGILE ULTRASONICS?**
At a high level, aerospace and non-aero component makers need high-rate composite materials and joining solutions that eliminate adhesives, fasteners, rivets, and labor to enable lighter, stronger, more versatile materials usage. The reason that Agile Ultrasonics’ approach to joining and shaping TPs is gaining traction is based on scientific research in collaboration with tier-one aerospace, NASA, and US Air Force programs that have demonstrated distinct advantages of Agile’s technology over laser, induction, resistance, and other methods of ultrasonic welding. Agile’s approach stands apart from mainstream ultrasonic industry OEMs such as Branson, Telsonic, Herrmann, or Dukane. These companies prefer to sell plastic welding systems from a catalog of tried and proven products. The problem is that component makers want to use TP composite materials in formats such as unidirectional tape, woven braid, and preformed components that mainstream OEM systems cannot support. Agile’s focus is to develop ultrasonic systems capable of delivering solutions customers need to join the materials they want to use. One key differentiator in this regard is Agile’s patent-pending process for continuously welding carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastic (CFRTP) composites without the use of energy directors, film resin layers, or other types of inserts. This aspect is a prime enabler of high-rate, low-cost automated composite welding, shaping, or compacting solutions that provide our customers with greater flexibility in materials selection, component design, and process outcome. This is just one example of the company’s growing portfolio of intellectual property, in-house expertise, and trade secrets that provide a competitive advantage for Agile and its customers.
**USE CASE EXAMPLES**
Continuous welding of fully formed flat or curvilinear skins to ribs, compacting or debulking of composite tape or braid for stamp forming operations, sealing of films for composite bagging and consolidation applications, strengthening and lightening 3D print applications, and applicable to aerospace, automotive, industrial, and consumer products.
**RECENT HISTORY**
Agile first gained revenue traction with NASA and in tier-one commercial aerospace in 2021. This helped lay the groundwork for multiple successes including commercialization of our first robotic end effector in tier-one aerospace in 2024. Our company currently has multiple terrestrial and space application programs underway for commercial, Air Force, and NASA applications. These programs include awards from NASA for a lunar tower prototype assembly program along with a simulated welding in space vacuum conditions award in collaboration with NASA and the US Air Force. In January 2025, we received a new award from the Air Force to advance EVTOL propeller manufacturing capabilities under their Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) initiative. Agile systems will be used to compact TP composite braid to near-net shape. Thousands of propellers will be needed to support DoD and commercial EVTOL vehicle needs. Additional structural welding programs for the Air Force under its Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) initiative are in the planning stages.
**TECHNOLOGY DESCRIPTION / METHODOLOGY**
Agile’s approach is to understand the customer’s composite material needs then develop and optimize the ultrasonic system for their intended use. We are the only company in North America focused on developing solutions in this way.
**IN-HOUSE CAPABILITIES**
IP, know-how, and trade secret development, design and build of weld systems and process parameters from inception to deployment, and manufacture of unique and customized components and tooling. The science of Agile’s continuous ultrasonic welding (CUW) methodology is based on applying intense highly controlled ultrasonic energy, termed “power ultrasonics,” through a robotic effector’s tip or sonotrode. The sonotrode, typically made of steel or titanium, makes physical contact with the material being processed (welded, shaped, compacted, sealed, cut, etc.). In high-performance composite applications, this contact occurs at 20 kHz or 20,000 times per second. The steel tip impacting the TP composite causes the resin molecules (polymer chains) in the TP matrix to bump into each other and heat the material through thickness. This is referred to as viscoelastic heating and occurs almost instantaneously. Precise control of the system’s parameters can heat the resin material above its Tg (glass transition temperature). At Tg, polymer (resin) changes from a hard state to a soft rubbery state or vice versa. Above Tg, the polymer chains are mobile and can flow and interconnect with adjacent particles. When the part cools, the resin returns to the hard state and the polymers become locked in, i.e., a weld is formed. Adjusting system parameters allows for varying degrees of welding, shaping, tacking, compacting, or debulking across diverse materials and varied Tg’s. Agile Ultrasonics’ systems are optimized for customer-specific applications so that the complex processes required to achieve an intended outcome can be closely controlled and scaled to support high-rate advanced materials TP component production needs. Agile’s novel end effector robotically aligns with the intended weld area. The sonotrode makes physical contact with the material, wave interaction generates viscoelastic heating within the polymer, through thickness heating supports multi-layer welding, and precise energy per unit area is controlled based on application needs.
**SUMMARY**
Thermoplastic composites are fast becoming the material of choice across broad commercial, defense, and space sectors. These are materials that the world wants to use. Agile is leading the development of ultrasonic systems needed to combine the materials these markets want to use. Agile Ultrasonics is becoming an essential member of the composite materials supply chain. Our strategy is to be opportunistic and agile in the marketplace as we grow. For investment inquiries, please contact Jim Stratton, President / CEO.
