Velo3D
Velo3D
Velo3D has announced the opening of a technical centre in Augsburg, Germany where the company’s Sapphire metal 3D printing systems will be assembled and demonstrated.
It has also landed its first European customer, with contract manufacturer Schoeller-Bleckmann Oilfield (SBO) Technology adopting the Sapphire System to enhance its service offering to the oil and gas industry. Velo3D says the two developments represent a significant expansion of its presence on the continent, which will be underscored when it exhibits at Formnext next week.
The company’s European Technology Center is based at the Augsburg Innovations Park and includes more than 1,200 square-feet of space across a main hall – where Sapphire Systems will be housed – as well as a lab area, offices and conference rooms. This facility, Velo3D believes, will help to enhance the services it provides to SBO and future European customers.
“Europe is a key market for Velo3D’s growth in the coming years and we’re thrilled to deliver our first end-to-end additive manufacturing solution and open our new technical centre to accelerate this expansion,” commented Velo3D founder and CEO Benny Buller. “With Velo3D’s end-to-end solutions, seeing is believing, and at our Augsburg facility, we’ll be able to demonstrate our impressive additive manufacturing technology in person to customer prospects. We’re also pleased to be launching in Europe with our first customer, SBO, supporting its efforts to expand its capabilities and service new industries using our Sapphire System.”
SBO is a multinational corporation with more than 1,000 employees worldwide operating 450 CNC machines. It is expanding its capabilities with Velo3D’s metal 3D printing technology less than two years after its US-based subsidiary, Knust-Godwin LLC, acquired a Sapphire System to build production parts for aerospace and oil and gas customers. Bringing the capability over to SBO’s Austrian headquarters, the company will utilise the Sapphire System to print complex metal parts in Inconel 718 according to the EN 9100, ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certifications.
“By adding Velo3D’s innovative additive manufacturing solution to our capabilities, we will be able to expand into new markets and service new customers, helping them build metal parts that were previously thought impossible to create,” offered Campbell MacPherson, SBO EVP of Advanced Manufacturing. “Over the past few years, many of our customers have inquired about 3D printing. Velo3D’s ability to create parts without having to design them for additive manufacturing makes it stand out compared to other solutions. Its end-to-end solution is very complimentary to our existing offerings and will allow us to greatly improve the supply chain for our customers.”
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