Velo3D Discloses Five-Year Sandia Research Framework for Metal Additive Manufacturing-3DPTimes

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Velo3D Discloses Five-Year Sandia Research Framework for Metal Additive Manufacturing

November 4, 2026 News 3DPTimes Editors | Source: Velo3D, November 3, 2026 9

The November 3 announcement describes an agreement signed in January, with individual projects to be defined separately and repeatable production among the proposed research priorities.

Archive photograph, December 20, 2022: Sandia technologist Levi Van Bastian operates a Laser Engineered Net Shaping system for alloy research. This is not a Velo3D Sapphire machine or a photograph of work completed under the newly disclosed CRADA. Photo: Craig Fritz / Sandia National Laboratories.

Velo3D announced on November 3, 2026, that it has a five-year Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with Sandia National Laboratories covering potential work in metal additive manufacturing. The company says the agreement was signed on January 13, 2026. The announcement discloses an existing framework rather than a newly signed November deal.

The CRADA establishes terms for collaboration, while individual research projects are to be defined separately through Project Task Statements. Proposed areas include part reliability, repeatability across machines and sites, materials development, workforce development and technology transfer. The release does not announce a specific funded project or completed research result.

Repeatability is a central issue for manufacturers trying to move metal AM beyond a single successful build. Velo3D says its Golden Print File approach is intended to reproduce a build across Sapphire systems, and it expects to report findings as collaboration progresses. That remains a company-stated objective, rather than an independently demonstrated outcome of this agreement.

For 3DPTimes, the practical significance will be in the projects that follow. Useful evidence would connect a defined material and process to measurable part properties, document variation across builds and machines, and explain the inspection methods used. A research framework can create a route to that evidence, but it cannot substitute for it.

The distinction also matters commercially: an umbrella agreement should not be read as a production order, guaranteed research funding or certification of a manufacturing process. The announcement is a starting point for assessing future technical disclosures.

Cover photograph: Archive image taken December 20, 2022. Sandia technologist Levi Van Bastian operates a Laser Engineered Net Shaping system for alloy research. This is not a Velo3D Sapphire machine or a photograph of work completed under the newly disclosed CRADA. Photo: Craig Fritz / Sandia National Laboratories.

Source: Velo3D, November 3, 2026: https://ir.velo3d.com/news-events/press-releases/detail/222/velo3d-and-sandia-national-laboratories-sign-five-year
Photo source: Sandia Labs official media photostream: https://www.flickr.com/photos/sandialabs/52708689754/
Media-use permission and credit requirements: https://www.flickr.com/people/sandialabs/

Written by 3DPTimes Editors, November 4, 2026.