3D Metalforge facility receives American Bureau of Shipping certification for Additive Manufacturing
September 16, 2022
3D Metalforge Ltd., headquartered in Singapore, has announced that its manufacturing facility in Houston, Texas, has received what is reported to be the first certification by the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) for the Additive Manufacturing of metal parts. The certification comes after a process of site inspection, test sample Additive Manufacturing and examination of the company’s processes and procedures.
This builds on the successful certification of 3D Metalforge parts by ABS which were installed on ConocoPhillips Polar Tanker Endeavour. These parts were later removed for testing and shown to be performing well and the on-going collaboration with ABS on the Maritime Port Authority of Singapore’s Joint Industry Program (JIP) 2 program.
“This is a very important step for the company, and fully establishes our Houston facility as one of the leading Additive Manufacturing facilities in the USA. We are extremely pleased to have worked with ABS to achieve this certification after many years of collaboration,” stated Matthew Waterhouse, CEO, 3D Metalforge.
This certification is part of 3D Metalforge’s growth strategy of focusing on oil & gas and maritime sectors and building a strong foundation of quality systems, assurance and quality part production. It also builds on 3D Metalforge’s Singapore manufacturing facility already being ISO certified by Lloyd’s Register (LR).
The benefits of this facility and process approval are hoped to include increasing the range of customers and parts 3DMF can work with to include those that require parts to be ‘class approved’ before installation. The certification also demonstrates the 3DMF Houston facility is considered capable to manufacture AM parts as outlined in the process/product approval in accordance with ABS Rules for Materials and Welding Part 2 (2022) and ABS Guide for Additive Manufacturing (2021).
