Inkbit

Velo3D Announces Q3 Release for Its Largest Volume 3D Printer Ever

Eplus3D

Share this Article

Velo3D, one of the leading manufacturers of metal additive manufacturing (AM) systems for aerospace and space, has announced the release date for its new Sapphire XC 1MZ, which will be the largest volume printer the company produces. Currently, that title belongs to the original XC, released at the end of 2021.

Velo3D says that it plans to deliver the first XC 1MZ systems to several aerospace companies sometime late in the third quarter of 2022. Quite straightforwardly, the “1M” in 1MZ refers to the fact that the machine can handle objects up to one meter in height. This gives it twice the build volume of the XC, as well as, according to the company, the largest build volume of any laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) printer on the market.

In a press release, the founder and CEO of Velo3D, Benny Buller, said, “Without advanced metal [AM], it would be difficult to impossible to build many of the technologies that are shaping the future of our world. Our innovative customers have a clear understanding of how the technology can unlock new capabilities for their businesses and transform their product offerings. New systems, like the Sapphire XC and Sapphire XC 1MZ, support that transformation by significantly increasing throughput up to 400% and lowering costs by up to 75% compared to the original Sapphire.”

Given its niche as a leading provider of AM hardware in the aerospace and space sectors, specifically, it makes sense that Velo3D has started to focus on higher build volumes. Combining that with the company’s emphasis on automated quality control should solidify its position in aerospace and space, and give it an advantage in any sector with high production volumes of large, heavy parts. This is especially significant, all the more so because the automotive industry continues to scale up its incorporation of AM into production lines. Honda is already a Velo3D customer, and the company will likely attract more automakers in the near future.

This matters far beyond quarterly and yearly sales numbers, because of the specific juncture where the AM industry currently exists. The next few years could very well determine the fates of what have been, thus far, the industry’s best-known companies, in particular on the hardware side.

The hardware manufacturers that benefit from both the automotive and aerospace sectors’ scale-up of AM usage will not only sell more machines and make more revenue, but will also be creating the standards for the entire ground floor of 3D printing’s use as a mass manufacturing technology. This has a multitude of implications for the role of those companies — like, potentially, Velo3D — in the industry’s evolution, perhaps the most notable among those being control over the supply chains for AM materials.

It’s still of course hard to say to what extent large-scale industry will end up adopting AM, let alone which companies may have real staying power, aside from the ones that have already been around for decades. But I think you could certainly do worse in terms of a potential formula for general success than a combination of large build volumes and automated quality control.

Images courtesy of Velo3D

Share this Article


Recent News

XJet Sets Sights on Metal 3D Printing IPO

India Bound: Airtech’s 2023 New Facility to Grow Composites in the Region



Categories

3D Design

3D Printed Art

3D Printed Food

3D Printed Guns


You May Also Like

Anisoprint Unveils New Office At Shanghai 3D Printing Center

Shanghai’s newest 3D printing hub, the Additive Manufacturing Technology Center (AMTC), is rapidly growing, increasingly attracting businesses to its innovation-driven environment. One of its latest additions is Anisoprint, a Luxembourg...

3D Printing News Briefs, March 22, 2023: Carbon Sequestration, 3D Printed Bird Drones, & More

In 3D Printing News Briefs today, Meltio is expanding its worldwide partner network, and 3D Systems introduced its VSP Connect portal. Oregon State University and Sandia National Laboratories received a...

3D Printing News Briefs, February 18, 2023: Post-Processing, Footwear, & More

First up in today’s 3D Printing News Briefs, Wohlers Associates has published a specialty report on post-processing, and AON3D has launched a line of filaments. On to business, Lithoz and...

Europe’s Largest Private Biomethane Deal to Drive Arkema’s Sustainable 3D Printing Materials

French energy company Engie (EPA: ENGI) announced it would supply 300 gigawatt hours (GWh) of renewable biomethane per year to local chemical company Arkema (EPA: AKE) for the next decade....