Castheon was founded in 2016 and is a premier additive manufacturing research, development, and production service bureau. The organization specializes in development of robust Laser Powder Bed Fusion processes for aerospace, defense, medical, and industrial based customers.  Its primary focus is to provide high quality components and robust additive manufacturing solutions.

Castheon Inc.
Leader in additive manufacturing research and comprehensive advanced manufacturing solution provider
– Development of robust process parameters with superior AM materials properties.
– First article process for product qualification and transition into robust production.
– Develop and qualify new materials for AM and provide designs allowable for AM material.
– Implementation of a printer agnostic approach based on the most consistent microstructure and eliminating defects.

Assisting companies to develop business strategies, strategic and tactical roadmaps establishing competitive advantages
– We assist our customers in establishing robust AM processes enabling rapid advancement from development into production.
– Establish complete process instructions, specifications, and post processes required for robust high-quality AM production.

First NASA production certification for mission critical components produced by AM for human spaceflight in 2015
–Invented the “Gao Block”, a physical metallurgy-based AM development tool & methodology for rapid and robust AM process development.
–Coined “AM Convertible Microstructure” and developed approach for producing isotropic AM materials.

Refractory Nb C103, W; Haynes 230/214/188/282/HX; Inconel 718/625; CuCr, GRCop-84/42; CPTi, Ti6Al4V Gr 5, 23; Al Alloys
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Meet Dr. Youping Gao

​Dr. Youping Gao founded Castheon, Inc., Thousand Oaks, CA in 2016 after a twenty-year career at Aerojet Rocketdyne, the last ten years of which were as lead of the additive manufacturing team.  Since its founding, Castheon has proven its excellence in additively manufacturing using many materials (aluminum, titanium, copper, Ni-base superalloys, and refractory alloys), with components ranging from concepts for rocket thrusters to concepts for refractory-metal hypersonic leading edges.

​Dr. Gao is a hands on researcher that identified many process fundamentals, gained comprehensive understanding, theorized them and reduced them to a successful practice that made Castheon’s advancement in AM a robust, high quality, first time through manufacturing process. ​

​Dr. Gao developed the now widely used “Gao Block”. This physical metallurgy-based AM development object enables rapid and robust AM parameter development. It not only rapidly optimizes AM process parameters, but it is also used to optimize microstructure for the best material properties. A successful build of a Gao block, with no distortion, is a clear indicator of a successful set of build parameters for the alloy in question. 

Castheon is a small business with 2 GE/Concept Laser machines and 1 Renishaw 500M machine but its in depth knowledge in AM is unrivaled and has become an indispensable AM R&D and production facility that enables high quality, low cost, rapid product development and short production runs for many of its clients.