制造服务提供商3D Metalforgehas utilized its in-house 3D printing capabilities to rapidly manufacture and supply heat exchanger parts to one of oil and gas firmShell’soffshore facilities.
Manufactured in a limited run, the specialized mini piping is designed to be fitted onto heat exchangers or condensers, to improve their thermal management properties and reduce their likelihood of failure. By extending the usable life of these parts, and supplying them at a record-breaking pace, 3D Metalforge says it has effectively helped Shell minimize equipment downtime at its site onJurong Island。
3D Metalforge的医学博士Matthew Waterhouse表示：“我们非常高兴为壳牌湖岛提供了该项目的AM技术，最终有助于改善现有设备的寿命。”“我们每天都在努力为客户提供更大的价值，这是对我们技术的好处和AM越来越多的采用的好验证。”
3D Metalforge’s offshore expansion
3D Metalforge凭借SLM，DED，MJF和FFF 3D打印机以及后处理机的强大投资组合雷电竞app下载，能够提供一系列生产，设计咨询和相关培训服务。尽管该公司的产品以前曾吸引了能源和国防部的客户的注意，但它主要针对海洋产业，并且越来越多地开始针对石油和天然气应用。
Back in 2017, the company opened its雷电竞充值增材制造中心(AMC) in Singapore, a complex with end-to-end production capabilities, built to target the marine, oil and gas and construction industries. Since then, the service provider has签署了两个理解的备忘录(MoU) with the新加坡海事和港口管理局, and expanded with a new21 System-Strong Print Farm。
To fuel this continued growth, 3D Metalforge opted togo public on the ASXearlier this year, in a move that has seen it raise A$10 million in capital. Following its IPO, the firm later unveiled a new factory in Texas, opened a Hybrid Wire Arc system (W-HAAM)-equipped“ AM港口设施”and became a certified pump impeller supplier forFlowserve, reflecting its growing standing as an offshore part expert.
满足壳牌的离岸需求
Much like 3D Metalforge, Shell Jurong Island or ‘SJI’ is based in Singapore, and its production and export facilities there represent its largest in the Asia-Pacific region. At the complex, located 5 km off the country’s shore on a private island, SJI produces chemicals such as ethylene oxide, styrene monomers and polyols, which are the base ingredients for things like resins, polystyrene and elastomers.
Deep inside this private offshore facility, the company’s manufacturing process relies on the use of large circular heat exchangers and condensers, which feature an array of thin-walled metal tubes. Inserted into the inlet-end of their host structures, these tiny pipes are designed to regulate heat and prevent costly failures that could cause SJI’s chemical production workflow to grind to a halt.
鉴于基地的离岸性质，获得备件可能是一项昂贵且耗时的业务，因此，壳牌现在已经转向了3D Metalforge的服务，以加快其维护过程。首先，服务局与SJI紧密合作，以了解其工程师的油管性能要求。
Using this feedback, 3D Metalforge then digitized the part, before rapidly 3D printing, post-processing and gaining certification for them. During post-production, the components were even subjected to an extensive quality review stage, in which they underwent stringent integrity testing, as a means of ensuring they met SJI’s exact specifications for end-use.
最终，3D Metalforge能够加速管道的产量，将其交货时间减少到仅仅两个星期，同时创造了更具成本效益的启动。在这样做的过程中，该公司认为，它不仅可以帮助SJI延长其设备的寿命，而且证明了3D印刷对快速制造备件的功效，在他们缺席的情况下，“会对客户的运营产生重大影响”。
AM’s oil and gas opportunity
By their very nature, maritime oil and gas rigs mine in remote locations, far away from the traditional manufacturing facilities needed to produce spares, making their machinery vulnerable to potential breakdowns. To get around this, a growing number of firms both inside and outside the sector, are beginning to examine 3D printing’s potential for creating components as and when they’re needed.
就在上个月，能源服务提供商Hunting PLCacquired more than 25% of Cumberland Additive, a manufacturing bureau with a portfolio of 16 3D printers, as well as CNC machines and metal finishing equipment. The move could see Hunting apply these 3D printing capabilities within its core oil and gas markets, and deploy them as a way of entering the lucrative aerospace and defense sectors.
光学系统制造商Carl Zeisshas also worked withSENAIandPetróleo Brasileiro最近评估巴西石油和天然气部门的3D打印。自2021年1月以来，这些公司一直在共同开发并验证了LPBF和DED 3D打印关键石油和天然气组件的优化处理参数，目的是在2023年为市场提供可衡量的结果。
Likewise, certification firmDNV GLreleased a3D打印服务规范文档2021年3月，旨在支持该技术在石油和天然气中的采用。通过制定黑白资格计划，并详细介绍了如何获得和保留与3D打印相关的证书，该公司旨在帮助该行业尽可能有效地整合添加剂制造。雷电竞充值
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Featured image shows 3D Metalforge’s 3D printed tubing fitted to Shell’s offshore heat exchanger. Photo via 3D Metalforge.
