EDITOR’S CHOICE
FASTER TOOLING & ASSEMBLY
3DPRINTUK
The extremes of additive manufacturing
When Norway based Kongsberg Maritime,
a specialist in technology for use in extreme
conditions, was designing a chassis for a
subsea measurement instrument, it turned to
3DPRINTUK to help with the manufacture of
key components. MEPCA found out more.
Kongsberg Maritime is an international
technology group working in the maritime,
defence, aerospace and digital sectors.
Kongsberg is at the forefront of pushing
technology in extreme conditions, so
it comes as no surprise that additive
manufacturing has a role in their design
process. As additive manufacturing grows
and becomes a viable, recognised option for
producing custom parts with a finish close
to injection moulded parts, more and more
design engineers are exploring and adopting
selective laser sintering (SLS) technology
to produce innovative products. As a result
of this growth, the more engineers demand
from the technology, the more investment
is made to advance the capabilities of the
method.
Kongsberg Maritime delivers products and
systems to merchant vessels and offshore
installations for positioning, navigation,
automation and handling systems, as well as
products and systems for seabed surveying
and monitoring, and fishing vessels and
fisheries research. 3DPRINTUK specialise
in low-volume production through additive
manufacturing and in particular SLS. By 3D
printing parts in SLS Nylon P12, and with very
few restrictions in design, manufacturers can
create components with reduced weight
while maintaining strength. Users of the
innovative method save on manufacturing
costs thanks to material savings and
assembly time reduction. In addition,
clever design means that the number of
components gets reduced and prototyping
that used to take weeks can be done in days,
in multiple variations, all branded with unique
part numbers.
Robert Kovacs, Senior Subsea Design
Engineer at Kongsberg Maritime approached
3DPRINTUK when they started a new project
to design a chassis for a scientific subsea
instrument used in underwater positioning
and mapping. “The part is a multi-functional
product chassis, not just a simple bracket
to join two things together. It has clever
features and functionality that we would not
get from a similar metal or injection moulded
part,” explained Robert. “The chassis flexes
extensively to allow a heat shrink sleeve to
be placed around battery cells and a PCB,
which simplifies assembly tremendously.
To secure the product during transport and
handling, a tiny slide-bolt arrangement allows
for a zip-tie to be inserted, again greatly
saving handling time and reducing risk.”
Small printed extrusions act as standoffs,
screw guides and screw anchors which make
the whole assembly extremely rigid. Features
such as these cost nothing during printing
but save greatly on handling, assembly
and repair. “Right from the start, deciding
to 3D print this pivotal part in a new design
meant that we were able to shrink the size
of the product while integrating features and
functionality that are simply not available
through other manufacturing methods,”
continued Robert. Robert was also able to
save money on the cost of other products by
nesting parts.
As well as price breaks for higher quantities,
3DPRINTUK allow users to nest parts around
one another to take advantage of any
unused space. The smaller the space users
take up within the printer, the less they are
charged.
Summing up his experience of additive
manufacturing, Robert concluded: “I believe
that the biggest advantages when 3D
printing parts are the time savings thanks to
faster tooling and assembly, along with the
ability to make far more intelligent parts. We
would, of course, have these features and
advantages if this part was injection moulded.
But it is not possible to make an injection
mould tool with all these features in one part,
as it has too many details and undercuts in
too many different directions.”
For further information, please visit 3dprint-uk.co.uk
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PECM Issue 43