Chromalloy, a manufacturing and repair solutions provider for gas turbine engine manufacturers and operators, selected the VELO3D Sapphire system as its additive manufacturing 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. “Chromalloy continues to seek innovative alternatives for our customers to extend the life of their engines and reduce their MRO costs,” said 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 Jim Whitton, Chromalloy’s, 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. VELO3D’s 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 HastelloyX, which is known for its strength and durability characteristics in high temperature environments. “As an industry leader in the aviation MRO space, Chromalloy is an excellent partner for us,” said 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, AM allows the supply chain to be scaled to market- and customer-specific requirements.”
“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,” Whitton agreed.
For more information, please visit https://www.velo3d.com/.
Related Glossary Terms
- superalloys
superalloys
Tough, difficult-to-machine alloys; includes Hastelloy, Inconel and Monel. Many are nickel-base metals.
