VELO3D™, a Silicon Valley-based end-to-end solution provider for metal additive manufacturing, yesterday announced new enhancements in Flow™, its print preparation software. Flow has a unique deformation correction technology which enables the user to produce parts successfully the first time, eliminating the need for iterations. Practically, it has achieved an enviable first print success rate of up to 90 percent.
Flow™ Print Preparation Software

Flow™, Velo3D’s print preparation software designed to work with its Sapphire™ system, is driven by a powerful integrated simulation engine to ensure predictable print outcomes, while its native CAD workflow controls performance consistent with the design intent and significantly reduces print preparation time. By working in tandem with Velo3D’s Sapphire system, Flow enables next generation SupportFree™ additive manufacturing for parts previously not possible
The combination of the Velo3D Sapphire metal additive manufacturing system and Flow print preparation software dramatically reduces the time and effort required, from design to final part. It includes tools that help with part orientation, support generation, simulated print predictions, per-surface process application, slice composer and process review. As a result, manufacturers can now print complex part geometries SupportFree, enabling volume manufacturing of parts that are otherwise impossible or uneconomical to print due to hard-to-remove support structures.
Speaking on the new enhancements of Flow, Scott Volk, CTO of Incodema3D, a high-quality metal 3D printing service provider from New York, commented, “Flow takes a refreshing new look at additive software: its ease of use is unprecedented. Understanding how users work and offering just in time tools is an exciting direction taken by VELO3D. VELO3D’s advanced simulation, prediction and correction ensures not only print success, but also improved part to part quality accelerating the adoption of volume production.”
Manufacturing Any Design

Velo3D’s 3D printing technology is able to print at extreme angles and overhangs as low as five degrees and large inner diameters and tubes up to 40mm without the need for supports. This eliminates the tedious process of post-processing clean-up. This superiority over other 3D printing technologies is what makes Velo3D 3D printing systems capable of manufacturing any design easily.
Flow Delivers Predictable Print Outcomes
Some of the key features of Flow include:
- A new physics-driven simulation engine has been built from the ground up, optimized for VELO3D process capabilities and the Sapphire system. It contributes to achieving a first print success rate of up to 90 percent, preventing many failed iterations.
- The powerful simulation utility predicts the print outcome, applying print deformation correction and validating the execution feasibility of the print prior to starting the build process. It ensures that the print outcome results in dimensionally accurate design intent.
- A sophisticated composer detects geometric features and applies the optimized, proven print process to specific features, delivering predictable print outcomes.
Flow’s native CAD workflow accelerates print preparation
Flow integrates composing capabilities, simulation, and print preparation into a single software workflow to eliminate a long laborious process to significantly reduce the print hassles. The native CAD workflow enables new user experience with smart selection, refinement, and filtering of part features and reduces hundreds of manual steps to a few clicks. This enables users to focus their efforts on solving problems on the application level instead of troubleshooting machine level parameters.
Best print outcome based on design intent

Flow is the first and only print preparation software that manages print outcome based on the design intent. With the native CAD import, the design intent is preserved, and users can optimize for target cost and quality parameters by the surface. It enables selection of areas to optimize the surface finish, and others for throughput. Flow allows the user to optimize a print within the design requirements by delivering the highest possible quality for critical surfaces, while non-critical surfaces can be optimized for throughput.
According to Velo3D CEO Benny Buller, “Build preparation software has always been an afterthought. VELO3D’s strategy is to offer an integrated hardware, software and process solution. The system is process driven, where the software manages the hardware and can predict and control the outcome. It is the only way to fulfill our mission to manufacture any design, assure accuracy and consistency and thus take additive manufacturing mainstream.”
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