Pratt & Whitney Evaluates Giant Velo3D System for 3D Printing Jet Engine Elements – 3DPrint.com

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Velo3D has introduced that its Sapphire XC will likely be evaluated to be used within the manufacturing of jet engine elements by Pratt & Whitney, on the Raytheon Applied sciences Analysis Middle, in East Hartford, Connecticut. A subsidiary of Raytheon Applied sciences, Pratt & Whitney is likely one of the world’s largest aero-engine producers.

Launched on the finish of 2021, the Sapphire XC at present has the biggest construct capability of any Velo3D machine, though that may change later this yr, when the XC 1MZ is launched. Lockheed Martin Area acquired one of many first Sapphire XC’s, in April, 2022, after Velo3D introduced cargo of the primary machine, to an unnamed “key aerospace buyer”, final December. Moreover, Texas-based contract producer Knust-Godwin, which makes components for quite a lot of heavy business sectors together with oil & fuel and aerospace/protection, acquired a Sapphire XC earlier this month.

In a press launch, Velo3D’s founder and CEO, Benny Buller, commented, “Metallic additive manufacturing [AM] can rework aviation and area methods by delivering unprecedented half consolidation, lighter weight elements, and extra environment friendly methods. …We’re desperate to see how [Pratt & Whitney] innovate their most mission-critical designs utilizing our end-to-end answer, and the way the economies of scale of an in-house system assist enhance addressable use-cases.”

It’s notable that Lockheed and Raytheon are among the many earliest prospects for the Sapphire XC, past the truth that they’re two of the world’s largest protection companies. They’re additionally two of the 5 preliminary company contributors within the Biden administration’s AM Ahead program, launched in Might of this yr. This system’s goal is to stimulate the adoption of AM by American small and medium enterprises (SMEs), primarily by directing a lot of current SME-related federal companies to start out facilitating and inspiring the incorporation of AM.

Thus, Velo3D — in addition to any firm servicing one of many 5 AM Ahead companies — will develop more and more built-in into the federal procurement provide chain for 3D printing. In different phrases, Velo3D might be anticipated to be one of many many beneficiaries of accelerating quantities of federal funding for the AM sector all through the remainder of this decade.

Furthermore, assuming Pratt & Whitney’s analysis of the Sapphire XC is profitable, Velo3D will proceed to get an increasing number of prospects from the aerospace sector. This is able to put it in good place to be thought-about the business commonplace for powder mattress fusion metallic printing.

Pictures courtesy of Velo3D



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