Stratasys Direct Manufacturing, a subsidiary of Stratasys, Ltd. (NASDAQ: SSYS) and one of the largest providers of additive (3D printing) and conventional manufacturing services in North America, is expanding its additive metals offering with the addition of VELO3D’s Sapphire™ 3D print system and Flow™ software. The Sapphire laser fusion metal additive manufacturing system allows for printing of complex part geometries with in-situ metrology, close-loop control, and low-to-no support structures.
The solution’s built-in tools include support generation, simulated print predictions, per-surface process application, slice composer and process review. This functionality allows for 3D printed production of complex metal components with even greater levels of quality control.
“The Sapphire system from VELO3D is an important part of advancing our capabilities to include using additive metals in applications and geometries previously challenging to 3D print,” said Kent Firestone, CEO of Stratasys Direct Manufacturing. “This is a natural step in building our service portfolio, and we are excited to take on projects with more complexity to drive further adoption of serialized production additive manufacturing and push the boundaries of 3D metal printing.”
Over the last three decades, Stratasys Direct Manufacturing has distinguished itself as an industry leader in 3D printed production parts – including investments in metal additive manufacturing to accommodate customer demand. Stratasys Direct Manufacturing delivers a significant range of 3D printed production parts annually, including high-requirement, serialized production components for the aerospace and energy sectors – and was awarded an additive metal manufacturing patent in 2018.
Anticipating growing market demand, the investment in the VELO3D Sapphire system expands Stratasys Direct’s 3D metals production capacity and support for cutting-edge customer applications.
“The Sapphire system from VELO3D enables a new level of manufacturing above and beyond current metal additive manufacturing systems, and we’re excited that Stratasys Direct has chosen to add this platform to their fleet,” said Benny Buller, CEO of VELO3D. “Stratasys Direct Manufacturing is a leader in metal additive manufacturing, advancing critical applications across many industries. Together, we look forward to pushing the boundaries of what is possible and solving the most complex customer problems with support free metal AM.”
Filed Under: Aerospace + defense, Product design
