“There’s a great deal of design flexibility in using 3D-printed materials. You might be able to achieve similar results by making multiple parts and welding or bolting them together, or by using complex carbon-fiber tools. But that requires a lot of engineering time, and often more manufacturing time as well.”

“With small engines like mine, efficiency is hard to achieve, and I knew I would have thrown much of that away if I’d had to adopt a more traditional design. But to be honest, I never expected that VELO3D could pull it off. I’m delighted to say that I was …