Sample heat exchanger part 3D printed on VELO3D Sapphire system.
VELO3D is partnering with Honeywell Aerospace to qualify its metal additive manufacturing system for the production of aircraft components.
The aircraft engine manufacturer will install VELO3D’s Sapphire System at its facility in Phoenix, Arizona where it will focus on printing with INCONEL, a nickel-based alloy that’s ideal for applications undergoing extreme temperatures. The material qualification process is scheduled for completion by the third quarter of this year, supported by VELO3D’s expertise in developing parameter sets to optimise material properties.
“We are qualifying VELO3D’s Sapphire system with the aim of printing geometries that can’t be fabricated on existing 3D metal printers. Their technology will help Honeywell develop new production-part applications while also meeting our material requirements for qualification,” said Dr. Söeren Wiener, senior director of technology and advanced operations for Honeywell Aerospace. “We intend to qualify this equipment through repeatability testing in our production environment, including build and post-processing, to generate an acceptable set of material property data and qualification of flight hardware.”
VELO3D launched its powder bed Sapphire system back in 2018 with a focus on building highly complex geometries without the need for support structures. The technology, which was Highly Commended in the Non-Polymer Hardware system category and took home the TCT Rising Star Award at last year’s TCT Awards, has already been adopted by the likes of Stratasys Direct Manufacturing and Boom Supersonic.
“The geometric enablement we are able to offer customers like Honeywell Aerospace allows them to print what used to be ‘impossible parts’ and, yet, do it with a strong business case of improved cost and better quality,” says Benny Buller, founder and CEO of VELO3D. “We are excited to partner with Honeywell to demonstrate that 3D metal printing is a viable production manufacturing method for a wider range of end-use applications.”
