Velo3D Inc, a metal-additive-manufacturing (AM) technology company based in Fremont, California, has announced that Atomic Industries, a developer of ‘artificial intelligence-powered manufacturing solutions’, has purchased a fully integrated metal AM system to provide its customers with 3-D printed tooling and dies.
The system includes: a Sapphire 3-D printer that is calibrated to produce parts in M300 tool steel; and an ultra-low-carbon alloy that offers high-strength and hardness properties that are derived from intermetallic compounds rather than carbon content. It will operate from a newly renovated facility in Detroit, where it will help to produce tooling for aerospace, automotive, and energy customers. Atomic Industries is the first company to qualify M300 tool steel for injection-moulding tooling with the Sapphire printer.
Aaron Slodov, Atomic Industries CEO and co-founder, said: “Our new Sapphire printer will be instrumental in helping Atomic Industries tackle the tooling market by qualifying M300 tooling steel with our customers and showing the full capabilities of 3-D printed tooling. We are excited to go hands-on and prove the robustness of the Sapphire platform, with conformal-cooling inserts and other challenging features that will benefit our customers. This investment aligns perfectly with our commitment to innovation and pushing the boundaries of what is possible in manufacturing.”
Better-performing tooling insertsBenny Buller, Velo3D’s founder and CEO, added: “M300 tool steel, which offers a remarkable combination of strength, toughness, and resistance to wear, has long been a staple in die-casting applications and tooling. By unlocking the ability to 3-D print in this alloy with its fully integrated solution, Velo3D is enabling customers to manufacture better-performing tooling inserts that minimise downtime on production lines by extending the lifecycle of tooling inserts. The alloy is primarily used in high-pressure die cast inserts for injection moulding, where molten metal must be efficiently cooled at precise times and temperatures.
“Atomic Industries’ ground-up approach to advanced manufacturing allows them to implement revolutionary technologies without the baggage of legacy solutions, and we are thrilled to partner with them on their journey to redefine manufacturing possibilities. It is not often that we get to work with a customer that is essentially starting from a blank slate, and we feel confident that with their new Sapphire metal 3-D printer — and its accompanying software — they will be able to exceed the demands of their customers and create a new framework for contract manufacturing.
“Our Sapphire metal 3-D printer has introduced printing capabilities that could not be achieved with conventional metal 3-D printers, like minimising or even eliminating the need for supports. We achieved this by combining hardware, software, and underlying manufacturing processes into a fully integrated solution that could achieve repeatable, consistent results across any Sapphire printer calibrated for the same metal alloy.”