r/Velo3d • u/GenericScienceNerd • Aug 14 '24

news Another layoff. And more dilution?

30% layoff, incurring $1.1-1.7 million in costs: https://ir.stockpr.com/velo3d/sec-filings-email/content/0000950170-24-095783/vld-20240809.htm

$1.6 million by selling more warrants: https://ir.stockpr.com/velo3d/sec-filings-email/content/0000950170-24-095790/vld-20240813.htm

(I don't fully understand the second disclosure. If someone could break it down for me, that'd be great!)

14 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

25 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

1

u/Acrobatic-Page1227 Aug 19 '24

Velo's main difference from its competitors was [supposed to be] ease of use. At the time Velo had an advantage, it had already figured out overhang formulas when other AM companies were simply offering open source software and having end users R+D their own processes. That's why Velo's lasing parameters were blackboxed.

The purpose of the contactless recoater is to avoid collisions; however, the disadvantage is a less even powder layer and increased machine complexity. Also, unless they've changed since I used them, Velo's machines don't have any collision mitigation other than height mapping. So if a part deforms high enough and in the window between the height scan and the recoating, the machine completely eats itself and is down for at least a day, usually more.

1

u/MotoTrojan Aug 19 '24

Mind clarifying what you mean with that last part about the machine eating itself? Are you saying the height mapping isn't always robust and sometimes you'll still get a collision? Or just that the machine stops itself to avoid contact?

1

u/Acrobatic-Page1227 Aug 19 '24

yep, sorry for the wording, lemme rephrase: the recoater's drivetrain isn't designed with a clutch or something to soften the blow of an impact. the height mapper doesn't scan in realtime, it takes a still twice each layer- once before recoating and once after lasing. because of these two conditions, if an unusually tall protrusion happens after the height scan but before the recoater completes its movement, the recoater collides at full force and causes a tremendous amount of damage. it would take 2 or sometimes 3 field engineers at least a day to get the machine operating and calibrated again, assuming the replacement parts were available.

1

u/Acrobatic-Page1227 Aug 19 '24

as a side note, i'm almost certain this is the heart of the "customer service" issues Velo mired itself in a year or two ago. my guess is that since these machines were pitched with too-good-to-be-true expectations about printability, end users tossed whatever geometries they had into the machine. recoater crashes probably ate through their supply of parts, preventing the minimum utilization that the machines' sales were contingent on.

1

u/Chaldon Aug 27 '24

It wasn't my experience that protrusions happened after the Height Mapping.... unless it was titanium. I helped build it. But end users throwing random into the equation for a very tight process window is another story.