Liberty Pattern scales 3D sand printing with PDB for aerospace casting

The U.S.-based Liberty Pattern Company is expanding its manufacturing with additive processes and is using three VX1000 systems from voxeljet with Phenolic Direct Binding (PDB). The company has been active in tooling and model making for decades and, with the AM expansion, is focusing in particular on complex mold and core geometries for flight-critical gearbox components. Following an initial VX1000 installation in 2024, two additional systems were added in 2025 to build capacity and redundancy and buffer failures during ongoing operations.

Technically, PDB selectively jets phenolic resin into thin layers of sand and cures the bonded areas with infrared energy, while unbound sand remains fully reusable. In combination with U.S.-produced carbo-ceramic sand, this results in high-strength cores with low thermal expansion, improving dimensional stability during casting.

“We saw an opportunity to help our customers take advantage of this technology — and it has paid off,” says Rick August, Vice President – Additive Sand Solutions at LPC. “Since the first installation, additive manufacturing has become daily business for us and is now deeply integrated into the workflows of both prototype development and series production.”

For a service provider like Liberty Pattern, process integration counts alongside material performance. 3D sand printing shortens prototyping iterations, enables validation of gating systems directly on the part, and supports consolidation of multi-piece core packages. “If a machine goes down or needs maintenance, production doesn’t stop,” says August.

Rick August sees even broader applications for 3D printing in the near future: “We are looking forward to higher print speeds and improved surface qualities. Additive manufacturing is a permanent part of our future — for prototyping, validation, and production.”

The 1,000 × 600 × 500 millimeter build volume enables single parts ranging from small test cores to larger production cores, while the recyclability of unbound sand reduces material costs and waste.

By expanding to three identical systems, Liberty Pattern creates the foundation for parallel projects and shorter lead times. For foundry customers in regulated industries, reproducible properties, traceable processes, and robust cores are critical — and PDB-based sand core production is intended to complement existing casting lines in a targeted manner.