The High-strength Alloy Combined with Velo3D’s End-to-end Solution Can Improve the Lifetime of Tooling Inserts and Enhance Manufacturing Throughput for Automotive Manufacturers

Velo3D, Inc. (NYSE: VLD), a leading metal additive manufacturing technology company for mission-critical parts, today announced that M300 tool steel, an ultra-low carbon alloy that delivers very high strength and hardness, is qualified for use in Sapphire printers. Velo3D has already seen extensive interest in the alloy from automotive manufacturers for use in high-pressure die cast inserts, injection molding, and other types of tooling. The first M300 parts printed on a Sapphire printer will be shown at IMTS 2022 in Chicago on Sept. 12-17 in booth #433031.

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Engineer evaluating an M300 tool steel print of conformal cooled tooling and high pressure die casting inserts. These types of inserts are widely used to manufacture parts for the automotive industry. (Photo: Business Wire)

“By qualifying M300 tool steel for use in our printers, we’re able to service entirely new industries, like automotive and tooling, that can leverage Velo3D’s advanced capability to print high quality, large diameter internal channels for their applications,” said Greg Brown, Velo3D VP of Technology. “By manufacturing die cast inserts and other tooling components with our technology, we expect companies will be able to build stronger products, improve machining throughput, and decrease manufacturing costs.”

Velo3D’s end-to-end solution is well suited for leveraging M300 tool steel due to its ability to print parts with high-quality surface finishes in complex large-diameter internal cooling channels. These channels can prolong the life of the tooling; however they can be difficult to create with conventional manufacturing methods. Furthermore, while many metal 3D printers can print smaller diameter holes, printing large channels can create roughness and susceptibility to cracking.

The company’s Sapphire XC 1MZ also provides customers with a large build volume—600 mm in diameter and 1000 mm in heights. This is the largest build volume in comparable printers from leading manufacturers, making it better suited to fulfill the requirements of industries that require the largest M300 tool steel inserts, like automotive.

Velo3D has seen high demand for Sapphire printers utilizing M300 tool steel in both Sapphire and Sapphire XC platforms. The company expects system deliveries will start as early as Q4 of 2022. To learn more about M300 tool steel in Velo3D Sapphire printers, visit velo3d.com/material-m300-tool-steel.

About Velo3D:

Velo3D is a metal 3D printing technology company. 3D printing—also known as additive manufacturing (AM)—has a unique ability to improve the way high-value metal parts are built. However, legacy metal AM has been greatly limited in its capabilities since its invention almost 30 years ago. This has prevented the technology from being used to create the most valuable and impactful parts, restricting its use to specific niches where the limitations were acceptable.

Velo3D has overcome these limitations so engineers can design and print the parts they want. The company’s solution unlocks a wide breadth of design freedom and enables customers in space exploration, aviation, power generation, energy, and semiconductor to innovate the future in their respective industries. Using Velo3D, these customers can now build mission-critical metal parts that were previously impossible to manufacture. The end-to-end solution includes the Flow print preparation software, the Sapphire family of printers, and the Assure quality control system—all of which are powered by Velo3D’s Intelligent Fusion manufacturing process. The company delivered its first Sapphire system in 2018 and has been a strategic partner to innovators such as SpaceX, Honeywell, Honda, Chromalloy, and Lam Research. Velo3D has been named to Fast Company’s prestigious annual list of the World’s Most Innovative Companies for 2021. For more information, please visit Velo3D.com, or follow the company on LinkedIn or Twitter.

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