Lloyd’s Register Energy Says Study Project Will Push 3D Printing Technology Forward
Lloyd’s Register Energy says additive manufacturing is “being held back from widespread adoption in safety critical, asset intensive industries.”
The general thrust of the London-based firm’s claim is that, as there is no standardized set of benchmarks to prove to manufacturers — and regulators — that 3D printed products are safe, an industry-wide project to understand the issues involved is critical to moving the technology forward.
According to Lloyd’s, the risks associated with part consistency and quality control, data integrity, and intellectual property are holding the technology back.
So Lloyd’s recently announced the formation of a joint industry project (JIP) which invites companies around the world to confront the issues faced by manufacturers supplying the energy industry with additive manufacturing techniques and products.
“It’s testament to our drive to bring together companies who understand the benefit of working together to deliver innovative and ground breaking solutions in a step towards digital manufacturing,” says Claus Myllerup, Senior Vice President of Technology at Lloyd’s Register Energy.
In Myllerup’s view, additive manufacturing/3D printing will have a major impact in the oil and gas industry over the course of the next 5 years, and his company’s Technology Radar survey has identified other areas of interest as well.
“The issues faced by manufacturers using additive manufacturing can be overcome through collaboration and working together. Pulling together key parties from material and machine suppliers, manufacturers, end users and research organizations, we can collectively consider the risks and control measures from different perspectives ensuring that all aspects are covered,” says Claire Ruggiero, Lloyd’s Register Energy’s Vice President for Technical Inspection Services. “We are confident this JIP will begin to help shape and guide ‘best practice’ standards in additive manufacturing.”
The company recently launched a multi-million dollar investment in a joint laboratory in Singapore aimed at delivering innovative technical solutions to address the challenges faced by the energy, marine and offshore sectors.
“The best JIPs are ones in which certifier, manufacturer, designer, and operator all work together to achieve a mutual goal of developing a ‘market driven’ design, that is future proofed as far as possible,” said Myllerup.
The company’s Oil and Gas Technology Radar Study says more than 60% of executives they polled indicated additive manufacturing will be “a medium-to-high impact technology in the energy industry,” and they say AM technology has the potential to be both disruptive and deliver benefits throughout industrial supply chains.
Chris Chung, Head of Strategic Research at Lloyd’s, says this JIP model is meant to ensure that individual research and development projects “deliver practical outcomes, and can respond to what industry says it needs, when it needs it.”
According to Chung, the project will focus on studying quality control, digital data integrity, environmental hazards, and software and hardware usability issues.
Do you have any suggestions about ways industry and commercial 3D printing businesses can regulate their products and output? If you’ve ever worked in 3D printing or additive manufacturing quality control, please let us hear about your experiences in the JIP for Additive Manufacturing forum thread at 3DPB.com.
Subscribe to Our Email Newsletter
Stay up-to-date on all the latest news from the 3D printing industry and receive information and offers from third party vendors.
Print Services
You May Also Like
3D Printing Financials: Rocket Lab’s Record-Breaking Year and Over 20 Launches Coming in 2025
Rocket Lab (Nasdaq: RKLB) closed 2024 with its best year yet. The company launched more rockets, signed more contracts, and expanded deeper into spacecraft and satellite production than ever before....
3D Printing Financials: Prodways Ends 2024 with a Profit
After a tough couple of years, Prodways (EPA: PWG) is starting to bounce back. The French 3D printing company finally made a profit in 2024, improved its operating performance, and...
3D Printed Rocket Motor Specialist Ursa Major Lands $15M Satellite Propulsion Contract
Ursa Major, the Colorado-based leader in deploying additive manufacturing (AM) for propulsion solutions, has received a contract from an unnamed customer for geostationary earth orbit (GEO) propulsion systems. The multi-year...
3D Printing Financials: Stratasys Ends 2024 with Cost Cuts and Growth Plans
Stratasys (Nasdaq: SSYS) has wrapped up 2024 with stronger margins but a full-year net loss. The polymer 3D printing leader navigated a year of economic headwinds, restructuring efforts, and shifting...