Pratt and Whitney set up Velo3D steel 3D printer for mission-critical designs

Pratt and Whitney has acquired a Sapphire XC steel 3D printer from Velo3D, to guage the machine for manufacturing manufacturing jet engine parts.

This printer is the primary of its kind to be put in on the firm, whereas it beforehand used Velo3D’s contract producer community to supply printed and completed components.

Pratt and Whitney, together with mother or father firm Raytheon Applied sciences, are skilled customers of additive manufacturing applied sciences with intensive data throughout numerous platforms. 

Raytheon is a launch participant of President Biden’s AM Ahead initiative, a brand new program launched in Could 2022, encouraging corporations to discover the usage of additive manufacturing to rework provide chains and drive innovation.

“Steel additive manufacturing can rework aviation and area techniques by delivering unprecedented half consolidation, lighter weight parts, and extra environment friendly techniques,” mentioned Benny Buller, Velo3D Founder and CEO.

Buller continued: “We’re happy to see Pratt and Whitney transfer ahead with their very own Sapphire XC printer. We’re desirous to see how they innovate their most mission important designs utilizing our end-to-end resolution, and the way the economies of scale of an in-house system assist improve addressable use-cases.”

The Sapphire XC is calibrated to print in Inconel 718, a nickel-based superalloy well-suited for excessive temperatures. The Raytheon Applied sciences Analysis Middle in Connecticut is the corporate’s central innovation hub the place engineers, scientists and researchers discover and develop new, transformative applied sciences.

“Pratt & Whitney seems ahead to future functions utilizing the Sapphire XC printer, and collaborations with different potential suppliers with the Velo3D functionality, for Pratt & Whitney GTF and superior engine packages,” mentioned Jesse Boyer, fellow, Additive Manufacturing, Pratt & Whitney. 

The centre offers the corporate’s companies with improvements and options to important buyer issues in a variety of analysis areas. That is made doable by Velo3D’s end-to-end resolution, which incorporates Circulate print preparation software program, the Sapphire household of printers, Guarantee high quality assurance software program, and Clever Fusion underlying manufacturing processes.

By way of Velo3D techniques, clients can construct mission-critical steel components that had been beforehand inconceivable to fabricate. It has partnered with corporations comparable to SpaceX, Honeywell, Honda, Chromalloy and Lam Analysis.

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