TWI and Lloyd’s Register launch two new projects to advance take up of Additive Manufacturing
January 26, 2017
The UK’s TWI and Lloyd’s Register (LR) have announced that they are calling for partners to join two new collaborative projects focused on specific challenges facing the Additive Manufacturing industrial sector. The projects, expected to attract considerable interest from companies worldwide, will look at regulatory compliance and the joining of AM structures.
The projects, ‘Achieving Regulatory and Code Compliance for Additive Manufacturing’ and ‘Joining of Metallic Additively Manufactured Products and Materials’ aim to explore further challenges uncovered following LR and TWI’s first joint industry project, ‘Certification of Laser Powder Additive Manufactured Components for Industrial Adoption in the Energy and Offshore Sectors’.
What remains unexplored is the link between Additive Manufacturing and compliance with standards and regulations that are often used in safety-critical pieces of equipment, such as the American Petroleum Institute code (API), the American Society of Mechanical Engineer’s (ASME) Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, and Europe’s Pressure Equipment Directive (PED).
The first project, ‘Achieving Regulatory and Code Compliance for Additive Manufacturing’ will investigate the routes to regulatory compliance of parts selected by project sponsors and will produce data and assessment criteria for the introduction and acceptance of parts through third-party inspection. This will give them a head start on their competition by receiving technical services and support covering design and manufacturing through to testing and inspection.
The second project, ‘Joining of Metallic Additively Manufactured Products and Materials’ will concentrate on filling in the real-world gaps (e.g. controls, data, testing, inspection) to enable project sponsors to design, fabricate and put into service structures that are comprised of conventionally made parts welded with additively manufactured parts. Project sponsors will gain the confidence to put parts into service in real-world, challenging operating environments and conditions, which is said to be a significant step forward for industries such as energy, marine and offshore.
