VX9000 3D printer makes molds for 60-metric-ton castings

An 8-meter-long linear axis carries seven carriages inside the VX9000, the industrial 3D printer developed by voxeljet, Bosch Rexroth and Fraunhofer IGCV. Its job is unusually heavy: printing sand molds for metal castings weighing 10 to 60 metric tons.

The printer uses recycled molding sand that is compatible with existing foundry processes. That matters because the printed molds are intended for components in wind and hydropower turbines, pumps, cars and aircraft, alongside artistic castings. The source does not describe a new casting material or a replacement for the foundry process; it describes a large-format way to produce its molds.

Bosch Rexroth supplied the movement technology: roller rail systems, ball screw assemblies and linear modules built with ball rail systems and a toothed belt drive. Fraunhofer IGCV contributed casting and process expertise, while GE Vernova joined the project for development and commercialization. Projektträger Jülich and Germany's Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action supported the work.

And then what, concretely? A foundry working on very large turbine, pump, automotive or aircraft parts could use the VX9000 to print the sand mold needed for those castings, while keeping the sand compatible with its existing processes. The machine's reported scale is the main practical change—not a claim that the entire production chain has already been transformed.

voxeljet says the VX9000 was, in its assessment, the world's largest 3D printer for foundry products. That comparison is attributed to the company, and no independent assessment is provided here. The account does not say that the printer has entered serial production or been deployed at a customer's site.