Submarine manufacturer turns to Additive Manufacturing for titanium ballast tank

News
February 9, 2017

February 9, 2017

Submarine manufacturer turns to Additive Manufacturing for titanium ballast tank

Sciaky, Inc., Chicago, USA, has used its Electron Beam Additive Manufacturing (EBAM) technology to build a titanium variable ballast tank for International Submarine Engineering (ISE), Ltd., saving a significant amount of time and cost when compared with traditional manufacturing processes.

ISE is said to have approached Sciaky after the closure of its former supplier, an overseas titanium forging facility that produced propellant tanks for the Russian space program. A new titanium variable ballast tank was manufactured for ISE using Sciaky’s EBAM process, reducing production time from 16 weeks to 8 weeks, as well as reducing overall costs as compared to retooling with a new forging supplier.

“Sciaky is proud to help ISE cut production time by 50% and reduce costs by 3D printing their titanium variable ballast tanks with our one-of-a-kind EBAM process,” stated Bob Phillips, Vice President of Marketing for Sciaky, Inc. “Our industry-leading EBAM technology is the world’s only industrial-scale metal 3D printing solution with approved parts for land, sea, air and space applications.”

The titanium variable ballast tank is a sub-system of ISE’s Arctic Explorer Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) class of vehicles. ISE previously built two Arctic Explorers for Natural Resources Canada/Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC) to map the sea floor underneath the Arctic ice shelf. The Arctic Explorer is the largest of the Explorer AUV class, measuring over seven meters long and weighing over 2000 kilograms.

Submarine manufacturer turns to Additive Manufacturing for titanium ballast tank

The unique ballast system enables the AUV park on the sea floor or hold itself on the underside of the ice during missions. Rated to 5,000 meters depth, the Arctic Explorer is designed to remain underwater between missions for extended periods of time. A small remotely operated vehicle conducts all servicing and charging after the AUV is attached to a docking head.

The EBAM titanium variable ballast tank has reportedly passed the same vigorous qualification testing as the original forged tank and ISE is said to have plans to manufacture other critical titanium parts using Sciaky’s EBAM process.

www.ise.bc.ca

www.sciaky.com

News
February 9, 2017

In the latest issue of Metal AM magazine

Download PDF
 

Extensive AM industry news coverage, as well as the following exclusive deep-dive articles:

  • Aluminium Additive Manufacturing: How a new generation of alloys will fuel industry growth
  • Shaping a national Additive Manufacturing ecosystem: The strategic growth of metal AM in Türkiye
  • How metal Additive Manufacturing is transforming modern hydraulic systems
  • High-performance product development in the era of computational design: a case study with nTop and NASA
  • The Additive Manufacturing of record-breaking pure copper heatsinks for high-performance computing applications
  • The Additive Manufacturing of tool steels: how non-linear modelling enables precise hardness control

Join 40,000+ other AM professionals – follow us online

Don’t miss a thing – register for our newsletter

Don't miss any new issue of Metal AM magazine, and get the latest industry news. Sign up to our twice weekly newsletter.

Register now

Looking for AM machines, metal powders or part manufacturing services?

Discover suppliers of these and more in our comprehensive advertisers’ index and buyer’s guide, available in the back of Metal AM magazine.

  • AM machines
  • Process monitoring & calibration
  • Heat treatment & sintering
  • HIP systems & services
  • Pre- & post-processing technology
  • Powders, powder production and analysis
  • Part manufacturers
  • Consulting, training & market data
Find suppliers

About Metal Additive Manufacturing magazine

Metal AM magazine, published quarterly in digital and print formats, is read by a rapidly expanding international audience.

Our audience includes component manufacturers, end-users, materials and equipment suppliers, analysts, researchers and more.

In addition to providing extensive industry news coverage, Metal AM magazine is known for exclusive, in-depth articles and technical reports.

Our focus is the entire metal AM process from design to application.

Each issue is available as an easy-to-navigate digital edition and a high-quality print publication.

Discover our magazine archive…

The free to access Metal Additive Manufacturing magazine archive offers unparalleled insight into the world of metal Additive Manufacturing from a commercial and technological perspective through:

  • Reports on visits to leading metal AM part manufacturers and industry suppliers
  • Articles on technology and application trends
  • Information on materials developments
  • Reviews of key technical presentations from the international conference circuit
  • International industry news

All past issues are available to download as free PDFs or view in your browser.

Browse the archive

Share via
Copy link
Powered by Social Snap