Velo3D Qualifies New Superalloy for Use in Its Sapphire Family of Printers

Velo3D, Inc., a metal additive manufacturing technology company for parts, has qualified the nickel-based superalloy powder Amperprint 0233 Haynes 282 for use in its Sapphire family of printers. The powder was produced by Höganäs AB—a company in metal powder production—under license from Haynes International, and is designed for high creep strength, thermal stability, weldability and fabricability not commonly found in other alloys.

The material is ideal for high-temperature structural applications like energy generation, gas turbines and space launch vehicles to build parts like heat exchangers, combustors, nozzles, combustion liners, rocket engines and shrouded impellers.

The first Sapphire printer using the Amperprint 0233 Haynes 282 powder will be operated by Duncan Machine Products (DMP), a contract manufacturer based in Duncan, OK. The system will be the seventh in DMP’s fleet of Velo3D Sapphire printers.

“Our goal at Velo3D is to enable engineers to build the parts they want without compromising on the design or quality,” says Benny Buller, Velo3D CEO and founder. “Qualifying new powdered metals, like Amperprint 0233 Haynes 282, for use in our end-to-end solution, further expands what’s possible with our additive manufacturing technology.” 

Powdered nickel-based superalloys, like Amperprint 0233 Haynes 282, are often used to print parts for use in high-temperature applications due to the alloy’s resistance to cracking and its ability to operate at near-melting-point temperatures. This tolerance allows parts printed with the alloy to be used in vacuum, plasma and other applications. Its high weldability makes the powder ideal for parts in larger systems because of its ability to be welded to other components.    

Höganäs specializes in creating powders for additive manufacturing, delivering products with consistent spherical shape, tight control on chemistry and enhanced flowability. The powders are made using the purest materials with very precise compositions of trace elements that give the metals their unique properties.

“It’s inspiring to see what engineers have been able to build using metal powders from Höganäs and Velo3D’s support-free additive manufacturing process,” says Jerome Stanley, Höganäs director of Global Sales, Customization Technologies. “The first parts printed using our Amperprint 0233 Haynes 282 powder are impressive, and I believe customers are only scratching the surface of what is possible with this superalloy. The powder, combined with Velo3D’s end-to-end solution metal AM solution, is an extremely effective combination for consolidating parts into monolithic structures to eliminate coefficient of thermal expansion in large, high-performance systems.”

Velo3D is one of the first additive manufacturing technology companies to offer Amperprint 0233 Haynes 282 powder to its customers. In addition to Amperprint 0233 Haynes 282 powder, metal powders qualified to be printed with Velo3D’s technology include Hastelloy X, Inconel 718, aluminum F357, Ti 6Al-4V Grade 5 and several additional materials.

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company’s website.