Milestones
- Sapphire launched2018Complete.
- Defense part approval programsNowCurrent milestone.
Most important updates
- 11 Aug 2026
- 7 Jul 2026
- 17 Feb 2026
- Dec 2023
- 16 Jun 2022
Current obstacles
- MoneyExpensive printer sales and a few big customers caused the 2024 crisis; steady revenue is still being rebuilt.
Physics limits
- Loose powder conducts heat poorlyAn overhang is melted on top of loose powder, which carries heat away many times worse than solid metal. The layer overheats and curls, which is why most printers need supports below about 45°.
- Fast cooling locks stress into printed metalEach tiny melt pool cools at up to a million degrees per second. The metal shrinks unevenly and traps stress that warps parts and can crack them, so parts need heat treatment and careful layouts.
- Internal surfaces can't be polishedChannels printed inside a part keep the rough, partly fused skin of the powder bed. They can't be reached by tools, which hurts fatigue life and fluid flow.
How it works
Low angles without supports
Velo3D tunes the laser for down-facing surfaces so shallow overhangs and internal channels print with few of the support scaffolds other printers need.
Non-contact powder spreading
A recoater spreads each powder layer without dragging a blade across the part, so thin or delicate features aren't knocked over.
Flow plans each region
Flow software prepares the build and picks laser settings for each region of the part; in-process sensors record every layer.
Sapphire, XC and 1MZ
The Sapphire XC builds parts 600 mm across and 550 mm tall; the XC 1MZ prints parts up to 1 m tall.
Update log
Tue 11 Aug
- Minor: PressCommercial
Tue 7 Jul
- Minor: PressCommercial
Tue 17 Feb
- Major: PressCommercial
Dec 2023
- Minor: PressRegulatory
Thu 16 Jun 2022
- Minor: PressHardware
About Velo3D
Velo3D
Sapphire metal printers, few supports needed
Velo3D makes Sapphire metal 3D printers that can print overhangs with few supports, popular with space and defense companies. After a 2024 cash crisis, Arrayed Additive took about 95% ownership, and it relisted on Nasdaq in 2025.
- Its Sapphire printers are widely used for rocket engine parts.
- Restructured in 2024-25: Arrayed Additive owned about 95% of shares by March 2025.
- Now chasing defense work, including US Army vehicle part approval.
- Founded
- 201412 yrs
- Headquarters
- United States
- Status
- Public
- Listed
- VELO (opens google.com)NASDAQ
- Valuation
- public
- Works in
- ManufacturingMetal 3D printingSpaceflight
- Coverage
- 1 program · 7 updateslatest 11 Aug 2026checked 25 Sep
- Customers
- SpaceX
- People
- Benny BullerFounder