On September 28, South Korean 3D printing company Link Solution announced its selection for the '2026 Investment-Financing Linked Technology Development Program - DeepTech Challenge Project (DCP)' under the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, securing a total of KRW 5 billion in government R&D support. The project aims to develop an 'AI-Based Multi-Process Additive Manufacturing Integrated Solution': integrating various 3D printing equipment and manufacturing processes scattered across operations into a unified AI platform, covering optimal control of the entire workflow from order intake, production planning, process prediction, quality determination to finished product handling; linking AI-MES equipped with more than six types of AI agents, digital twins, and AMR (Autonomous Mobile Robot) unmanned logistics systems, targeting the construction of a mass production system for an autonomous manufacturing foundry (lights-out factory) with minimal human intervention. The solution will be directly applied for validation at the Daejeon foundry production line—scheduled for completion in December 2026, South Korea's first and largest 3D printing foundry—and targeted at high-end component mass production scenarios in aerospace, defense, humanoid robots, and AI data center thermal management. The company has already disclosed its first foundry order worth KRW 660 million from Hanwha Aerospace. Value to powder buyers: ① The AI autonomous manufacturing system lowers the cost threshold for small-batch metal 3D printed parts, potentially amplifying the consumption of South Korean metal powders in foundry scenarios; ② The scaling up of applications in aerospace and defense, humanoid robots, and AI thermal management will drive demand for corresponding powder grades, warranting attention to powder supply chain access for South Korean foundries; ③ Risk warning: The project is a government R&D initiative, and the pace of commercialization depends on the validation progress at the Daejeon factory.