Quickly realizing that engineering school would not get interesting until his senior year in college, Zack Vader decided not to waste any time and began his life’s work in 2011 at the age of 18. His initial efforts culminated in the design of a micro-gas turbine generator. As he thought through the business case, he concluded that no one had produced something similar due to prohibitive manufacturing costs. In realizing that cost efficiency was on the critical path, Zack explored creating the turbine utilizing a cutting edge technology – 3D Metal Printing.

His creativity and ambition caught the attention of his father (Scott), who began to see the possibilities within Zack’s imaginative work. A 3D printing pioneer within the fiberglass industry, Scott found enjoyment in helping his son, and they utilized the latest turbine Computer Aided Design and Finite Element Analysis software to create a product that could potentially change the world.

After an extensive search, the father and son team located one provider of 3D Metal Printing within in the US, and upon learning about Vader’s product, the company quickly became an enthusiastic partner. Shortly before the first turbine was to enter production, General Electric acquired the 3D printing company and all outside capacity was taken offline. Discouraged, but still inspired, Scott and Zack went searching for another source.   Zack and Scott’s necessity of finding a 3D Metal Printing supplier – and the lack of any viable options – led them to the idea of developing their own version.

It was at this time that Zack identified and merged two complimenting technologies for a new printer: Magneto Hydro Dynamics (MHD) & Liquid Metal Jet Printing (LMJP). Through this melding of MHD and LMJP, the MagnetoJet was born.