Velo3D Selected for its 3D-Printed Aftermarket Part Solutions for Gas Turbines in Aviation and Energy

February 16, 2021

Additive manufacturing will help keep aging engines operational with greater flexibility and shorter delivery times than traditional MRO supply chains

CAMPBELL, Calif. – March 11, 2021— Velo3D is pleased to announce that Chromalloy, a manufacturing and repair solutions provider for gas turbine engine manufacturers and operators worldwide, recently selected the Velo3D Sapphire® system as their additive manufacturing (AM) solution to significantly impact the economics of future Maintenance, Repair & Operations (MRO) projects in Chromalloy’s aviation and energy markets.

Chromalloy is installing the Velo3D Sapphire® in its manufacturing and repair services environment. This industrial AM technology is increasingly being adopted by manufacturers as a solution to offset the high costs of low-volume, direct-part replacement for conventionally produced parts when demand and long-term forecasting are uncertain.

“Chromalloy continues to seek innovative alternatives for our customers to extend the life of their engines and reduce their MRO costs,” says John Green, Vice President, Engineering & Technology, Chromalloy. “The Velo3D additive manufacturing equipment provides a unique, practical solution for our proprietary LifeX customer solutions.”

According to Chromalloy’s Jim Whitton, Director, Innovation Strategy, “For Chromalloy, 3D printed parts must provide inherent value because they are 3D printed. Otherwise, the printing itself is just a novelty. Velo3Ds unique build capability and material density create high value by reducing post-processing requirements.”

Velo3D will qualify Chromalloy’s machine for 3D printing nickel-based superalloys, including Hastelloy®X, which is known for its strength and durability characteristics in high-temperature environments. Velo3D is renowned for enabling geometric freedom through its patented SupportFree process. The capability to produce practically unlimited geometries eliminates the need to redesign legacy parts in order to produce them with AM. This tremendously reduces the barrier of transitioning legacy parts, produced historically by casting, welding or brazing, to additive manufacturing.

All Sapphire machines come standard with Velo3D ‘s highly automated, user-friendly Flow™ pre-print software and Assure™ quality assurance and control system.

“As an industry leader in the aviation MRO space, Chromalloy is an excellent partner for us,” says Benny Buller, Velo3D founder and CEO. “They have the expertise to open up a whole market category of parts. With the flexibility to produce high value, high mix, low-volume parts for aerospace, AM allows the supply chain to be scaled to market- and customer-specific requirements.”

Jim Whitton agrees. “For complex gas turbine combustor components that have limited aftermarket availability or high replacement cost, the Sapphire system will allow Chromalloy to produce hardware on-demand, negating high NPI (new product introduction) tooling costs and lead-times of other methods,” he says.

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About Chromalloy

Chromalloy is an integrated solutions provider that delivers innovative solutions designed to reduce manufacturing and operating expenses and extend the life of gas turbine engines. Chromalloy serves the airline, military, marine and energy segments with a broad range of services at locations around the globe. Chromalloy is authorized by the FAA and EASA and many other NAAs and is qualified under ISO and NADCAP. Chromalloy is a subsidiary of Sequa Corporation. Sequa Corporation is a diversified industrial company with operations in the aerospace, energy and metal coatings industries. Sequa is a Carlyle Group company. For additional information, visit http://www.sequa.com.

About Velo3D

Velo3D is transforming the analog supply chain to digital manufacturing. As the creator of the industry’s first SupportFree solution for 3D metal printing, their product suite is an end-to-end digital manufacturing solution for producing metal parts. With Velo3D Flow™ print preparation software, Sapphire® printer, and Assure™ quality assurance software, manufacturers can accelerate product innovation, become more agile and responsive to market needs, and reduce costs. The company is based in Silicon Valley and is privately funded. For more information, please visit https://velo3d.com/.

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Media Contact for Chromalloy:

Jeff Romaine

Director of Corporate Communications

JRomaine@chromalloy.com

Media Contact for Velo3D:

press@velo3d.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/VELO3DMetal

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Velo3Dinc/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/velo3d/

About the Author

Renette Youssef

Chief Marketing Officer

Renette Youssef is the Chief Marketing Officer at Velo3D and joined in October 2020. She is responsible for all aspects of Velo3D's marketing efforts including strategy, customer communication, demand generation, product marketing and corporate communication. Renette has managed marketing organizations in Australia, Europe, and Silicon Valley.