#3DExpress: U.S. Navy and Velo3D Partner to Boost AM in Defense

Yesterday, we covered the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s investment of over $10 million to predict the lifespan of 3D printed parts, and today, we have another defense headline: Velo3D is partnering with the U.S. Navy. Velo3D is a metal additive manufacturing company that creates solutions for the aerospace, defense and energy industries. Now, the company will work with the Navy to advance its use of AM. Next, we will cover TissueLab’s new bioprinter, and then, dive into a new resin created by scientists at UC Santa Barbara and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Finally, we’ll end with a focus on construction, covering Ukraine’s rebuilding efforts using recycled concrete, and the world’s largest 3D printed tower that was just completed in Switzerland.

Velo3D Partners with the U.S. Navy to Boost AM in Defense and Aerospace

Velo3D has signed an agreement with the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) and Fleet Readiness Center East (FRC East) to advance additive manufacturing adoption, specifically for aerospace and defense components. This four-year collaboration seeks to characterize new advanced materials and develop high-performance parts that meet the demanding standards of the military sector. Through this alliance, Velo3D’s advanced metal 3D printing capabilities, in particular, its Sapphire line of printers, will be used to produce military flight hardware with high precision, repeatability and scalability. “By focusing on engineering-driven solutions, we are helping to bridge the gap toward qualifying AM flight hardware and enabling the production of mission-critical parts that meet the stringent reliability and performance demands of defense applications,” said Velo3D CEO Arun Jeldi.

A Velo3D Sapphire XC metal printer. Photo Credits: Velo3D

TissueLabs Presents Its New 3D Bioprinter

In 2022, we introduced you to TissueLabs, a Swiss medical start-up. It was already aiming to create organs with its 3D bioprinters. Today, it presents its latest machine, the TissuePro. Based on the extrusion process, it is equipped with five print heads, each with its own independent piston, offering micron-level resolution. It can combine several biomaterials, both transparent and non-transparent, to create even more complex tissue structures. The aim is not only to make progress in cancer research, but also to create more precise organ models and to pursue pharmaceutical testing. TissueLabs founder and CEO Dr Gabriel Liguori concludes: “TissuePro is everything we’ve learned, reinvented, and reimagined. If you loved TissueStart, get ready. You’re about to fall in love all over again.”