Velo3D has been selected as the first qualified additive manufacturing (AM) vendor to support the U.S. Army's Ground Vehicle Systems Center's (GVSC) campaign of accelerating qualified AM solutions throughout the Defense Industrial Base.
Announced at the Military Additive Manufacturing Summit (MILAM) earlier this month, Velo3D is said to have met all GVSC qualification criteria - including DoW cybersecurity standards - in less than two weeks to earn selection as the first qualified vendor under this program. It follows the company's Cooperative Research & Development Agreement (CRADA) with the U.S. Army DEVCOM GVSC announced in mid-January.
Through the CRADA, the two entities were working to rapidly develop and validate additively manufactured complex parts and assemblies to address critical supply chain challenges affecting ground combat vehicles and other military systems. Those parts are now set to be validated on Velo3D's Sapphire family of standard and large-format advanced metal AM printers in both Aluminium CP1 and Inconel 718.
Upon successful completion, the Velo3D AM alternatives will be available to the U.S. Army Tank and Automotive Command (TACOM) for insertion into the Army supply chain to help relieve current sustainment bottlenecks.
"Accelerating AM solutions is a critical effort for the Army and GVSC," said Mr. Brandon Pender, Associate Director, GVSC Materials Engineering. "Velo3D has the advanced AM technology we need within the industry and the robust process, quality and material data available required to support our accelerated qualification process. We are excited to replicate this process with other industrial base partners and appreciative of Velo3D's close cooperation that enabled us to rapidly validate this concept."
"Velo3D is humbly honoured to support the U.S. Army and be the first of an important cohort of industrial base partners facilitating GVSC's rapid advancement of sustainment technologies at the speed of war - soldiers should expect nothing less from a company like ours," added Dr. Arun Jeldi, CEO of Velo3D. "Our Rapid Production Solution is a proven solution the Department of War and the broader national security community increasingly rely on to accelerate the delivery of critical advanced technologies."
Since the restructuring of the Velo3D business in late 2024, the company has built significant momentum in the defence sector. Earlier this month, Velo secured a $32.6 million contract with the U.S. Department of War's (DoW) Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) in support of a major weapon system program of record, while last year its Rapid Production Solution offering also achieved AS9100D quality management certification, affirming it meets the stringent standards set by the International Aerospace Quality Group for aviation, space, and defence supply chains. The company has also commenced work to develop and qualify a copper nickel alloy for the US Navy and has partnered with Linde AMT to supply domestically produced CuNi powder to the US Navy and Maritime Industrial Base.
