WAAM FOR MARITIME

Robotic WAAM offers solutions for the industrial production of complex objects in the Maritime industry to automize the process, whereby material optimization and cost reduction can be achieved.

INDUSTRY VALUE

Maritime assets are capital intensive, downtime has financial consequences, and production operations are often situated at remote locations in isolation from repair facilities and spare part storage.

Robotic WAAM offers opportunities in reshoring and accelerates custom, low-cost, and fast printing of complex objects. With WAAM, the design and assembly becomes an automated process, where material optimisation can be achieved, while a reduction in assembly costs becomes possible.

KEY BENEFITS

INCREASING MANUFACTURING FLEXIBLITY

Shorten production lead time
Fast printing of complex objects
Decrease manufacturing costs

INCREASING SUPPLY CHAIN FLEXIBILITY

Production on-site
Increase material efficiency
Reduce purchase costs

LOWERING INVENTORY COSTS

Reduce part count and volume
Lower minimum order quantity
Digital inventory

INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS

Industry Application

BRONZE PROPELLER BLADES

The maritime sector needs to adopt advanced materials with a smaller environmental footprint that are less costly and easier to maintain. Through WAAM, it is possible to create lightweight, high-performance materials to manufacture hollow propeller blades to improve performance on the original design with optimal durability.

These propellers are printed in NiBrAl and post-processed afterwards, showcasing two of the most common blade shapes.

Industry Application

ALUMINIUM BULB KEEL

The keel is a flat blade that prevents the boat from being blown wayward by the wind and also holds the ballast that keeps the boat right-side up. WAAM eases the product development of keel systems, responding to the needs of each custom yacht, and can assure high performance.

This 4m long, 8mm thick bulb keel incorporates internal stiffeners to improve its structural integrity. Its surface is finished manually, and the internal volume is filled with lead.

Discover Keel Bulb

Industrial Application

ALUMINIUM COWL VENT

KM Yachtbuilders partners with MX3D to 3D print aluminium yacht parts aiming to produce their unique parts efficiently and cost-effectively and print industrial metal parts on-site. The research was in part funded by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO).

Despite its modest size, a high-end cowl vent can take a lot of effort to construct. MX3D printed this aluminium cowl vent in one session; coated and painted on the inside, and its surface has been manually finished.

CERTIFICATION & QUALIFICATION

MX3D follows the recent guidance notes for the certification of products proceeded by Lloyd’s Register, The Welding Institute, DNV GL, and Bureau Veritas Marine & offshore as part of the engineering package.

MX3D produces parts with mechanical properties comparable to those of cast or wrought material. By adopting new and existing international standards, MX3D manages the quality of parts for various industries and applications.