11.05.2023
International
Distributed manufacturing – i.e., 3D printing the same industrial product within specifications at geographically dispersed locations – is a compelling one. Yet no metal LPBF provider has been able to demonstrate repeatable AM distributed-manufacturing on a global scale – until now.
A print file of an industrial part, which includes the entire instruction set for additively manufacturing it using Velo3D technology, was securely sent to six manufacturing sites in three countries – four in the U.S., one in Asia and one in Europe. Mechanical testing and flow testing – along with destructive and non-destructive evaluation of material coupons – demonstrated that all of the parts, both metallurgically and functionally, met the oil & gas customer’s design and performance specifications.
These results are a bellwether for AM across multiple industries, an important benchmark in demonstrating that distributed manufacturing using advanced metal laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) technology is achievable in the real world.