ABS and the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) are working together to develop a model-based additive manufacturing (AM) qualification framework for the maritime industry, with the aim of reducing lead time and cost for approval of 3D printed parts.
Traditional manufacturing processes rely on physical tests for verification and validation of their mechanical performance. Additive manufacturing, commonly known as 3D printing, is also currently dependent on physical tests but could potentially leverage its digital manufacturing nature to adopt model-based approaches to enable rapid qualification and approval.
“AM is commonly pitched as the solution to on-demand manufacturing, but a ‘next-day’ approval remains a practical challenge,” said Dr Gu Hai, ABS Vice President of Technology.
“This novel method of model-based qualification is a promising approach for the rapid qualification of an AM part, potentially addressing such challenges associated with the qualification of AM applications which could lead to increased adoption of the technology within maritime.”
During the project, ABS will work with the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) and Mencast Marine. A*STAR’s Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology (SIMTech) will develop data-driven models to predict the probabilities of defect formations in AM parts for verification and validation, while Mencast Marine will provide industrial use cases to validate the developed models.
Based on evaluation results, the framework will be refined, and guidelines will be developed to implement the models for AM qualification of marine parts.
The project is supported by the MPA under the Maritime Innovation and Technology Fund.
“MPA is glad to support the model-based qualification project by ABS, SIMTech and Mencast, with the Maritime Innovation and Technology Fund,” said Kenneth Lim, Assistant Chief Executive (Industry and Transformation) at MPA.
“The project could potentially reduce the business costs and expedite the approval and certification of Additive Manufacturing (AM) parts. Building on the success of MPA’s Joint Industry Programme (JIP) for ABS’s participation from earlier AM JIP projects, MPA is committed to collaborating with industry partners, such as ABS, to grow Maritime Singapore’s AM ecosystem.”
