Velo3D, Inc., today announced Ci-Esse Srl, a precision machining contract manufacturer with more than 15 years of experience in additive manufacturing, has purchased a Sapphire printer from Velo3D to become the first member of its contract manufacturer network in Italy. This new, fully integrated metal additive manufacturing solution will be used to produce parts for Ci-Esse's customers in aerospace, defense, motorsports, and other industries. Ci-Esse's Sapphire printer will be calibrated to produce parts using Inconel 718 metal powder and will reside in the company's additive manufacturing facility in Fiorano Modenese, Italy.

“With more than 40 years of experience in precision machining, 15 years using metal additive manufacturing technology, and a deep-rooted passion to solve their customers' most difficult problems, it's no surprise that Ci-Esse has developed unique processes and capabilities—from printing parameters and quality control to post-processing—that help them stand out among their peers,” said Benny Buller, Velo3D Founder and CEO. “The overlap of industries served by Velo3D and Ci-Esse is quite extensive, and I foresee a long and fruitful partnership where we learn from one another as we serve our joint customers. We look forward to seeing what their customers produce with Ci-Esse's new 3D printing capabilities.”

Ci-Esse was founded in 1978 and has a large number of customers across space, aviation, defense, industrial tooling, racing, and automotive. Prior to 2007, Ci-Esse's business focused on conventional manufacturing technologies. Since then, Ci-Esse has adopted advanced manufacturing technologies, like additive manufacturing, to differentiate itself from the competition. Its customers utilize Ci-Esse's manufacturing capabilities to procure ready-to-use parts to support their various product lines and service offerings. The company's extensive legacy is due to its focus on delivering quality parts that meet every aspect of its customers' specifications. The company is AS9100D certified and maintains a metallurgical laboratory to monitor the quality of the powder used in its additive manufacturing processes.

“One of our core values at Ci-Esse is to strive for perfection in every part we deliver to a customer,” said Giorgio Canali, Ci-Esse CEO. “Velo3D's solution, with its quality assurance and pre-print software, is an excellent complement to our extensive history of delivering parts produced with the highest quality. The fully integrated solution will help us monitor the quality of the parts we produce for our customers to add an extra level of validation in our quality.”

Within the laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) industry, Velo3D has been able to differentiate itself with its solution that combines software and manufacturing processes with its metal 3D printers. The fully integrated solution streamlines the pre-print process, ensures quality in every layer of a 3D printed part, and enables reputability from one Sapphire printer to another. This allows engineers to easily scale production to new printers without having to complete the extensive process of qualification. This approach will allow Ci-Esse to produce parts for existing Velo3D customers with minimal effort. As its customers need to scale their production, Ci-Esse can simply add additional printers to meet its customer's needs.