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- NIAR Acquires Velo3D Sapphire 1MZ for Metal 3D Printing Research
NIAR Acquires Velo3D Sapphire 1MZ for Metal 3D Printing Research
Slice of Manufacturing Team
September 05, 2024
Key Highlights:
NIAR acquires Velo3D’s Sapphire 1MZ printer to develop qualification methods for metal 3D-printed parts.
Focus on airframe applications using Inconel 718, a corrosion-resistant alloy widely used in aerospace.
Velo3D’s Assure software will support NIAR in achieving performance-based qualification for additive manufacturing.
Source (Business Wire)
Notable Quotes:
"Our team is focused on helping the U.S. identify materials, designs, and techniques that can support the country’s aerospace, defense, and manufacturing industries and we’re glad to work with America’s own metal additive manufacturing provider."
"Qualifying 3D-printed parts for production use is a massive challenge… it’s great to see a brilliant organization like NIAR work to solve this."
Our Take:
This collaboration between NIAR and Velo3D is a significant milestone in the aerospace industry's efforts to integrate metal 3D printing into critical airframe applications. By leveraging Velo3D's advanced Sapphire 1MZ printer and its Assure software, NIAR is positioned to address one of the major hurdles in additive manufacturing: qualification and certification of 3D-printed components. This initiative not only promises to push forward innovation in aerospace but could also lay the groundwork for broader adoption of 3D printing across other industries reliant on mission-critical parts.