“3D printed PROPELLER!!”
Yes, RAMLAB is producing the first certified propeller which will soon be fitted to a ship DAMEN shipyard. This has never been done before. Rotterdam Additive Manufacturing Laboratory (RAMLAB) is the first 3D printing field Lab that focuses on the port related industry. With the use of 3D printer, replacement parts for ships can be manufactured within a few days, at present this takes months.
Till now, there are seven different additive manufacturing techniques present:-
- Material jetting
- Powder-bed extrusion
- Material extrusion
- Binder jetting
- Directed energy deposition
- Vat photo-polymerization
- Sheet lamination
And, it has to be found that ‘Powder-bed Extrusion’ is the optimal additive manufacturing technique can be used on-board for the small spare parts. It uses a laser to scan and selectively fuse the metal powder particles, bonding them together a part layer by layer. Metal used, come in a granular form. Pipes and valves fittings, impellers and huge variety of spare parts are used on-board that can be easily manufactured without any delay. Now orders are being sent from equipment maker’s warehouse.
But executing this technology on-board is very challenging. As different material required for different spare parts and this become difficult to store raw material on-board. Polishing, grinding, milling and many other processing is to be required after printing as a final touch, and this required skilled specialist. And, approval from the Classification Society is the major issue.
Manufacturing through 3D printers can easily be performed offshore. Various ship-buildings and in the shore based workshops can make use of it, this avoid the large scantlings used in the casting process. The only requirement is Class-approval of the workshops.
The marine_inShorts 