A team of mechanical engineering students at Purdue University has designed a highly-efficient, award-winning 3D printable heat sink. The sharkskin inspired design took the #1 spot at the Virtual Student Heat Sink Design Challenge, a U.S. university competition organized by the ASME K-16 Committee and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). The challenge […]
GM invests in additional 17 Stratasys 3D printers, accelerates move from prototyping to tooling
Automotive manufacturer General Motors (GM) has added 17 Stratasys FDM 3D printers to its already extensive fleet, citing “speed, weight reduction, and cost efficiency” as key advantages of the technology. The news precedes an update from Stratasys on the companies most recent financial performance that is due tomorrow. Ron Daul, Director of Additive Manufacturing at GM, states: […]
AREVO and Superstrata reveal custom 3D printed unibody carbon fiber e-Bikes
AREVO, a Silicon Valley company dedicated to direct digital additive manufacturing of composite materials, has worked with new California-based start-up Superstrata to 3D print the fully-unified carbon composite frames for its upcoming e-bikes. By producing the frame in a single piece using AREVO’s continuous carbon fibre 3D printing technology, Superstrata has eliminated the need for […]
Interview: AMT and DTI on how they created new 3D printing food-contact applications
“Food-contact applications are definitely a place where 3D printing will take a bigger piece of the cake, it’s only the tip of the iceberg for us with surface treatment. It’s a market that will grow a lot in the coming years, so there’s a big potential there.” That’s how Mads Østergaard, Team Manager at The […]
This robotic sloth with 3D printed parts is helping to conserve the Atlanta Botanical Garden
In the Atlanta Botanical Garden, Georgia, visitors over the next several months will be treated to the peculiar sight of a sloth robot on a mission to save some of the world’s most endangered species. Meet SlothBot, a new high-tech, a slow-moving and energy-efficient robot that can linger in the trees to monitor animals, plants, […]
Velo3D Raises $28 Million in D Round
Metal 3D printing company Velo3D has just raised $28 million in a Series D funding round, making it a total of $138 million that the firm has raised so far. The D round was lead by Piva. Just recently the firm announced that it now has a 1m tall build volume metal printer with its first customer being found in oil and gas. On the most recent episode of the 3DPod, we delve deeper into that along with the customer and Velo3D team.
Velo3D CEO Benny Buller said:
“Customers in industries such as aerospace, oil & gas, and power generation are now able to achieve part quality for their mission-critical applications with performance levels that weren’t possible before with 3D metal printing.”
In the press release, the company stated that,
“VELO3D plans to use the new capital to expand its product portfolio to include more machine options, compatible alloys, and enhanced software and hardware capabilities. The company anticipates that the injection of fresh capital will help them reach sustainable profitability by mid-2022.”
Ricardo Angel, CEO of Piva stated,
“We have been impressed by Benny, the team and their breakthrough technology that will have a significant impact on the efficient design and manufacturing of more complex components, previously unattainable, with clear commercial traction already in the aerospace and aviation markets. VELO3D will lead a new wave of more resilient, distributed manufacturing capabilities for its most critical components, which the world will need to ensure local product availability and timeliness, while mitigating potential future worldwide disruptions.”
Velo3D has used software, FPGA’s and then hardware to improve DMLS/Powder Bed Fusion success rates and increase the number of geometries that can comfortably be made with little or no supports. We discuss the technology and its capabilities here with Velo3D’s Zach Murphee. The company is a real challenger to GE and EOS as well as other players such as SLM Solutions. This level of funding really supersizes Velo3D’s efforts in penetrating the market. The firm is up against some players with serious technological chops and large installed bases. The matchup in DMLS also pits very different firms and funding mechanisms against each other.
EOS is closely held an asset of the Langer family whose second-generation CEO Marie Langer recently told us “would never sell.” The Langer family has its sights set on a far off horizon. I once said, only half-jokingly, “no they won’t sell to Siemens, they want to be Siemens.” They are trying to cement EOS’ lead and burrow deep into applications with broad materials and industrial penetration and a focus on organizational design, sustainability, and stewardship. Meanwhile, GE is a large corporate, wounded sure, but still one of the mightiest and formidable engineering organizations on this earth. They are focusing on industrializing 3D printing for themselves in order to gain further entrenched advantages in aero engines and other units. GE’s commitment is sometimes questioned by those who could imagine the firm walking away from our industry. I do see them as capable of taking sanguine decisions but Additive is in one sense a rounding error for them but also a way for them to gain advantages in markets that they are strong while speeding up to go to market and saving costs. SLM is Parcom private equity-owned the firm is really making progress with new machine generations but still somehow seems hurting from being a hares breadth away from being acquired by GE years ago. They signed before it was killed by activist investor Elliott demanding more and GE bought Concept Laser instead which was a huge misread by Elliott because they should have realized that what GE needed most was Arcam. There was no alternative for Arcam EBM patent cover but there was for DMLS patent cover. SLM did have a big win when manufacturing leader Beam IT bought 15 systems recently though. Other firms such as precision measurement firm Renishaw is making more credible machines now but still seems a bit behind in the new generation of automated higher productivity machines. 3D Systems is trying to partner in order to deliver post-processing and workflows. DMG Mori and other entrants are gearing up, as is Trumpf. Additive Industries is a startup with a long view, vision, and breadth but this kind of Velo3D investment thing could make them think of tie-up possibilities due to comparative scale even though their series focused machine is very much where the market is headed.
With investor attention long focused on binder jet, this will put the spotlight on DMLS 3D printing once again for the Silicon Valley set; and now for higher value parts manufacturing in aerospace, oil and gas, and the like. The hope of binder jet is now replaced by the higher cost reality of DMLS. This is a great development for our industry and a huge win for Benny and the team.
The post Velo3D Raises $28 Million in D Round appeared first on 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing.
Underwater ROV built with Farsoon 3D printers
Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV) manufacturer QYSEA is working with Chinese SLM and SLS 3D printer manufacturer Farsoon to produce protective covers for its FIFiSH V6 underwater ROV. These customized covers, used for protecting the ROV’s smart vector thrusters, are created using Farsoon’s Flight additive manufacturing technology. They provide the mechanical strength and durability necessary to […]
Renishaw assists in building ocean turbine parts using metal 3D printing
British engineering firm and metal 3D printer manufacturer Renishaw has announced the production of two ocean turbine parts using additive manufacturing in partnership with the Nova Scotia Community College (NSCC) in Canada. The components were manufactured for industrial design firm Biome Renewables, which specializes in designing wind turbines. Using metal additive manufacturing technology, Renishaw helped […]
UK defence agency plans to 3D print high explosives
The Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL), an executive agency sponsored by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) of the UK, has started to develop 3D printed explosives. The project aims to create new possibilities for various explosive effects using intricate designs enabled by 3D printing, and also to reduce transportation and storage costs. Applying additive […]
Duncan Machine Products 3D printing oil & gas components with VELO3D
VELO3D, a Californian metal 3D printer manufacturer, has announced plans to work with Duncan Machine Products, an Oklahoma-based precision machining company. As a supplier to oil and gas and aerospace industries, Duncan Machine Products (DMP) will use metal additive manufacturing to both improve part performance and reduce lead times. DMP has selected VELO3D’s Sapphire printer […]