Ship building meets 3d printing

Photo: Unsplash

ShipParts.com, an online marine equipment procurer, entered into a research partnership with Singapore’s Nanyang Polytechnics (NYP) and the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS). Its aim is to prove standards for the certification of metallic components produced by NYP’s Additive Manufacturing Innovation Centre (AMIC) for maritime application.

The $245k project, partly subsidised by the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Cluster (NAMIC), will qualify the 3D printed metal part of an end-user component using a Selective Laser Melting (SLM) 3D printing machine. The SLM technology can print complex parts in a variety of materials including stainless steel SS316L, which is widely applied across the industry owing to the corrosive nature of the maritime environment.

Set to run for a period of ten months, starting April 2020, the project foresees research teams developing metal part printing procedures and carrying out tensile, chemical and microstructure tests of the printing medium against ABS rules and standards governing weld and material strength.

Afterwards, they will move on to printing actual parts, including a pump impeller, and evaluating their performance. The project is expected to end in January 2021.

NYP will be responsible for developing the metal printing test plan, along the necessary procedures and processes, as well as testing and analysis. ShipParts.com will provide the design criteria for the printed parts, while ABS will secure new testing and qualification standards and audit the manufacturing process.

Due to reduced logistics required when manufacturing parts with 3d printing technology, the process will have a beneficiary effect on decarbonization of the sector.

"Current investment and take-up will drive cost downwards with a technology leap expected by 2022 for larger parts. There are now more material choices and more accurate 3D printing machines capable of manufacturing components in a more cost-effective way," said Roy Yap, Chief Growth Officer, ShipParts.com, before adding, "[They have] the capacity to manufacture parts with complex geometry and internal shapes, resulting in a significant reduction in overall lead-time. Another key advantage is that parts can be printed on demand, requiring little to no inventory storage. Lower inventory holding costs can be achieved."