Machana Labs: From CAD to Metal in Days.
LOS ANGELES, CA — In an industry historically shackled by supply chain delays and the slow, expensive production of custom tooling, a Los Angeles-based company is rewriting the rules of metal fabrication. Machina Labs, a pioneer in advanced manufacturing, is delivering on a promise that sounds almost impossible to traditionalists: turning digital CAD files into physical, industrial-grade metal parts in a matter of days, not months.
For the construction, aerospace, and defense sectors—where lead times for custom metal components often stretch into quarters—this technology represents a seismic shift. By eliminating the need for custom dies and molds, Machina Labs has effectively created a "software-defined factory" that is capturing the attention of heavyweights ranging from the U.S. Air Force to Toyota.
The End of "Tooling" Dependence
Traditional metal sheet forming (stamping, hydroforming) requires the fabrication of massive, expensive physical dies (molds) before a single part can be made. This "tooling up" process typically takes 12 to 16 weeks and costs hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Machina Labs replaces this hardware bottleneck with software. Their flagship technology, Roboforming, utilizes two 7-axis industrial robots that work in perfect synchronization on either side of a metal sheet. Using AI-driven sensors and path planning, the robots incrementally shape the metal—a process often described as "robotic blacksmithing."
"You can get parts significantly faster," explains Machina Labs CEO Edward Mehr. "The fastest you can change die making is like three months... With us, you can get your first part in hours after the design is done."
How It Works: The Digital Blacksmith
The process, known technically as Dieless Incremental Forming, allows for:
Speed: A direct link from Digital Twin (CAD) to production.
Flexibility: The ability to switch from producing an aerospace cowling to a custom architectural facade panel with a simple software update.
Precision: Real-time scanning and AI correction ensure that the final metal part matches the digital design within sub-millimeter tolerances.
Because the system is material-agnostic, it can form standard aluminum and steel as well as exotic alloys like titanium and Inconel, which are increasingly critical for high-performance structural applications.
Major Industry Players Buy In
The industry has taken notice. In late 2025, the Strategic Development Fund (SDF), the investment arm of the UAE’s EDGE Group, announced a significant investment (up to $35 million) to bring Machina’s factories to the Middle East.
Similarly, Toyota has partnered with Machina Labs to pilot custom automotive body panels, proving that the technology is robust enough for the exacting standards of the automotive world. On the defense front, the U.S. Air Force is utilizing the platform to manufacture sustainment parts for legacy aircraft—solving a critical logistics problem where original tooling for old planes no longer exists.
Implications for Construction and Architecture
While initially adopted by aerospace, the implications for the construction industry are vast. Custom metal facades, complex joint nodes for steel structures, and bespoke architectural skins have traditionally been prohibitively expensive due to the "one-off" nature of construction projects.
Machina Labs’ dieless approach makes "mass customization" economically viable. Architects and structural engineers can now design complex, non-standard geometries without incurring the penalty of custom tooling costs, potentially ushering in a new era of fluid, organic metal forms in building design.
The Future is Agile
As supply chains face increasing volatility, the ability to manufacture "on-demand" is becoming a strategic necessity. Machina Labs is not just selling a machine; they are selling agility. By decoupling manufacturing from static hardware, they are proving that in the modern industrial era, the most powerful tool is no longer a hammer or a die—it is code.
About Machina Labs Founded in 2019 by aerospace and manufacturing veterans, Machina Labs combines AI and robotics to build the next generation of factories. Their headquarters are located in Los Angeles, California.