vSM installs, commissions second metal additive manufacturing machine in Houston, TX

Having installed and commissioned its second metal additive manufacturing machine in Houston, voestalpine Specialty Metals (vSM) aims to meet growing demands from its oil and gas customers.

With the addition of the new equipment, vSM has the ability to print parts in a variety of materials from cobalt chrome, maraging steels, nickel alloys, as well as titanium.

The voestalpine additive manufacturing center in Houston was inaugurated in 2018 and is certified according to ISO9001/2015, offering a complete value service solution for additive manufacturing, including design, simulation, prototyping and production of the finished part.

“Additive manufacturing allows unique and innovative designs that were previously not possible using conventional manufacturing methods,” Brian Van Burkleo, Global Director, Oil & Gas, said. “As the demands on performance and operational safety increases, especially for the oil and gas industry, we see an increased interest from major oil and gas companies and service companies/OEMs to both try out new designs with prototypes and produce large series of parts for operational use. Since operations commenced in 2018, our team have put the start-up period well behind them. They continue to meet and exceed the demands of our customers’ unique requirements. ”