Peekay Steel Castings installs VX4000 3D printer in Bangalore

Voxeljet reports that it is further expanding in the Indian market as Bangalore foundry Peekay Steel Castings installs VX4000 sand 3D printer, with a job box size of 4000 x 2000 x 1000 mm, to quickly and cost-effectively conduct technically demanding projects and expand into new business areas. The VX4000 system is one of the world’s largest and most productive 3D printers with a build volume of eight cubic meters.

We don’t generally post articles about purchases of a single 3D printer, however, when that 3D printer is as large voxeljet’s VX4000, one of the largest industrial 3D printing systems in the world, even the acquisition of a single unit becomes newsworthy. Peekay Steel Castings is a Bangalore-based steel foundry specializing in the production of high-quality steel castings, predominantly for the Oil & Gas sector, starting from 1 kg to 20 tons per casting.

“When it comes to castings weighing several tons, the requirements for dimensional stability and accuracy are particularly high. With our 20 years of experience in the field of industrial 3D printing and the VX4000, we can offer both a wealth of experience and the right tool. With another VX4000 installation in India, we look forward to continuing our cooperation with Peekay Steel,” said Rudolf Franz, COO & CFO of voxeljet AG.

Most of Peekay’s products require less than four castings. As a result, the time and cost of the development of patterns can outweigh the total project costs. For some complicated castings, that require non-traditional gating, the VX4000 was deemed most suitable.

“We want to offer our customers an end-to-end solution and position ourselves as a supplier of high-quality, ready-to-install components in record times. With the VX4000, we are able to increase the flexibility of our production in order to be able to react quickly, even to complex projects. 3D printing gives us a unique competitive advantage, especially when it comes to expanding our business areas.  Since the beginning, we have emphasized the importance of co-engineering with our customers, most of these are Fortune 500 companies, to optimize and customize the product design, to lend better functionality and a clear competitive advantage. A specialized Design Center aligned to the VX4000 will help add value for our customers,” added K.E. Shanavaz, Jt. Managing Director, Peekay Steel Castings (P) Ltd.

Additionally, one of the drivers was the impending uncertainty in the current trying times dealing with the uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. With the size, speed and flexibility of the VX4000 Peekay Steel can cater to new projects from their existing customers at record times while also looking for different business areas to venture into.

Peekay Steel will be setting up the VX4000 in a brand new location at Bangalore in the Airport City. The company has a multi-pronged approach to its new 3D printer. They not only want to support the foundry industry in India by providing services from their large system but also plan to set up a high-tech Knowledge Center around it. This will include a training facility to support educational institutes and the industry alike. An open-access of this kind is a means to attract more and more people towards the foundry industry- a much-needed paradigm shift.