ABS and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries in 3D Printing JDP

ABS and a consortium led by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) signed a joint development agreement (JDP) on 3D printing, or additive manufacturing, of metallic components onboard vessels. The agreement builds on an MoU signed last year.

Project partners ABS, HHI, 3D printer manufacturer CScam, and digital library developer KITECH aim to enhance rapid maintenance, repair and operations activities on sailing merchant vessels. 

The concept of using 3D printers to create ship parts onboard vessels has been around for at least a decade, with Maersk trialling 3D parts printing on one of its vessels in 2014. The vision for the technology is to have a digital library of ship parts which can be printed in high quality on demand onboard to meet a vessel’s repair and maintenance requirements.

The scope of work for the latest JDP includes among others creation of a framework and methodology to assess parts fabricated at sea, starting with non-class parts as a benchmark against onshore printed samples.

In parallel, ABS, HHI and CScam have also started New Technology Qualification (NTQ) procedures on additive manufacturing systems. NTQ ensures new technologies demonstrate a level of maturity with systematic review of potential risks. HHI and CScam have achieved NTQ Stage 1 and 2 from ABS, the first NTQ on additive manufacturing in Korea.

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“This is the first time a class society has been involved from the beginning of such research, and ABS is proud to provide guidance and our deep technological experience to this distinguished group of companies. We look forward to exploring the possibilities of additive manufacturing, which promises to support more efficient operations in the maritime industry,” said Dr. Gu Hai, ABS Vice President, Technology.

“We are excited to work with ABS on this cutting-edge technology that will help us explore additive manufacturing for complex shipbuilding parts. This is first of its kind for marine ships and, with guidance from ABS, we look forward to manufacturing marine parts by 2025,” said Lee Hwan Sik, HHI Senior Vice President.

ABS has experience in the additive manufacturing field, including a joint development project to manufacture and class a 3D-printed propeller. The class society also has its Requirements for Additive Manufacturing.