Posts tagged: 3D Printer HardwareAerospaceMetal Additive Manufacturing

Visser Precision, a contract manufacturer serving major industries from the racetrack to outer space, has purchased and received two Velo3D Sapphire printers – expanding its 3D printing capabilities for its aerospace customers. One of the printers is the first Sapphire printer calibrated for Haynes 214 (UNS N07214), a nickel-based superalloy that is now available as a powder option for all Velo3D customers. The other Sapphire printer is calibrated for Inconel 718, which is commonly used in many aerospace and industrial applications for its high strength and corrosion resistance.

Kevton Technologies, a subsidiary of Houston-based contract manufacturer Kevton Industries, has acquired seven Sapphire 3D printers from Velo3D to provide its customers with high-quality, additively manufactured parts. The purchase is one the largest ever with Velo3D from a contract manufacturer and will make Kevton Technologies one of the top suppliers of additively manufactured parts relying on Velo3D’s laser powder bed fusion technology. The first two Sapphire printers are scheduled to begin producing parts for customers in Q1, 2023 in Kevton’s Houston, Texas facility.

Pratt & Whitney, a Raytheon Technologies business, has acquired an end-to-end solution from Velo3D, a leading metal additive manufacturing technology company for mission-critical parts, to evaluate the Sapphire XC printer for manufacturing production jet engine components. This is the first Sapphire printer to be located at Pratt & Whitney, although the company previously utilized Velo3D’s contract manufacturer network to produce printed and finished parts.

Additive Industries North America sold 6 MetalFAB1 systems to an undisclosed aerospace company located in California. Considering the cost of a MetalFAB1 system is over one million dollars per unit there aren’t many companies that could afford such a purchase. The list of large aerospace companies with facilities in California includes Northrop Grumman, CDG (a Boeing company) and GKN Aerospace (near San Diego), all of which are investing significantly in expanding their internal AM activities. In particular, GKN is a likely candidate as the Group had been a Beta client for Additive Industries, purchasing its first MetalFAB1 system in 2016, to make automotive parts.