VELO3D‘s Sapphire system was selected by Chromalloy as its additive manufacturing solution. Chromalloy provides manufacturing and repair solutions for gas turbine engine manufacturers and operators worldwide. It will apply AM in its aviation and energy maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) projects.
Industrial AM technology is increasingly being adopted by manufacturers as a solution to offset the high costs of low-volume, direct-part replacement for conventionally produced parts. This method of production allows companies to produce parts on demand.
“Chromalloy continues to seek innovative alternatives for our customers to extend the life of their engines and reduce their MRO costs,” says John Green, Vice President, Engineering & Technology, Chromalloy. “The VELO3D additive manufacturing equipment provides a unique, practical solution for our proprietary LifeX customer solutions.”
VELO will qualify Chromalloy’s machine for 3D printing nickel-based superalloys, including HastelloyX, which is known for its strength and durability characteristics in high-temperature environments. VELO3D is renowned for enabling geometric freedom through its patented SupportFree process. The capability to produce practically unlimited geometries eliminates the need to redesign legacy parts in order to produce them with AM. This tremendously reduces the barrier of transitioning legacy parts, produced historically by casting, welding or brazing, to additive manufacturing.
“As an industry leader in the aviation MRO space, Chromalloy is an excellent partner for us,” said Benny Buller, VELO3D founder and CEO. “They have the expertise to open up a whole market category of parts. With the flexibility to produce high value, high mix, low-volume parts, AM allows the supply chain to be scaled to market- and customer-specific requirements.”
