Auburn University has expanded its advanced manufacturing capabilities with the purchase and installation of a CF3D Enterprise cell from Continuous Composites at the Auburn University Research and Innovation Campus in Huntsville, Alabama, the company said.
The system adds continuous-fiber composite manufacturing capacity to Auburn’s Applied Research Institute’s footprint in Huntsville. This region has become a significant hub for aerospace and defense programs and an emerging center for hypersonic development. Continuous Composites said the CF3D Enterprise platform, paired with CF3D Studio software, is intended to enable the production of high-performance continuous fiber composite structures and to support research programs aligned with aerospace and defense priorities.
The installation is located at Auburn’s nine-acre Huntsville site in Cummings Research Park, near Redstone Arsenal. The facility includes configurable laboratories, modeling and simulation environments, secure research areas, and dedicated workspaces for interns and graduate researchers. It is positioned as a connection point between Auburn’s broader research programs and the defense and aerospace community in the area.
Auburn researchers expect the CF3D Enterprise system to serve as both a research tool and a capability for partners to accelerate prototyping workflows and applied materials research. The university also plans to use the platform to expand hands-on learning opportunities for students and faculty in digital composite manufacturing, a skill set increasingly sought in aerospace and defense programs.
Continuous Composites said it will host a CF3D Tech Tour at Auburn University’s Huntsville Research and Innovation Center on March 11, 2026. The event is expected to bring together aerospace original equipment manufacturers, defense primes, research institutions, and government stakeholders for technical discussions, demonstrations, and an on-site look at the CF3D Enterprise cell.
KEY QUOTES:
“Huntsville continues to be the gravitational center of hypersonic development in the United States, and Auburn is investing where it matters. The addition of a CF3D Enterprise cell gives Auburn and its partners a modern composite manufacturing capability and a toolset to explore structural concepts that were previously out of reach.”
Steve Starner, CEO, Continuous Composites
“Auburn’s presence in Huntsville places us in the center of national-priority programs. Integrating CF3D into our capabilities expands our support for hypersonic development and gives partners the ability to study structural concepts grounded in real manufacturing data.”
Luke Boyer, Ph.D., Lead Principal Research Engineer And Advanced Manufacturing Team Lead
