Oil & Gas 3D Printing
3D printing technology has been increasingly used in the oil and gas industry for a variety of purposes, such as manufacturing complex and custom parts for drilling, production and refining processes, as well as producing rapid prototypes and molds. This technology can produce oil and gas industry parts faster, more efficiently and more cost-effectively, thereby improving productivity and performance. Contact us now for a free quote.
3D Printing for the Oil and Gas Industry
The oil and gas industry has a variety of applications in logistically tricky locations such as gas pipelines and oil rigs. These applications require as much maintenance and spare parts as any other industrial application. However, due to the challenging nature of these locations, excess parts inventory becomes a challenge. Therefore, warehouses need to be large, which is not possible in many cases, or you must have the equipment to manufacture spare parts on-site. This is where 3D printing becomes a viable option for the oil and gas industry.
3D printing for the oil and gas industry allows manufacturers to test new products in a more cost-effective and flexible way than traditional CNC machining or die casting. With 3D metal and plastic printing, design-to-manufacturing constraints are eliminated, and nearly any design is manufacturable and economical.
Like other industries using 3D printing, the oil and gas industry benefits from having a finished, production-quality part in a matter of days instead of months. This reduces parts inventory requirements and allows for custom one-off part solutions. Elimold’s 3D printing services are provided onshore, protecting sensitive designs and expensive tool changeover time and shipping.
Our Digital Manufacturing Process
On-demand digital manufacturing greatly increases agility in the oil and gas industry, facilitating a quick transition from design concepts to tangible prototypes for immediate testing and adjustments. Elimold’s just-in-time online manufacturing platform supports on-demand production, minimizes inventory costs, and enables customized solutions without extensive re-tooling. This approach, combined with decentralized manufacturing capabilities and reduced setup times, ensures faster, more efficient, and more cost-effective delivery of energy solutions.
Shorten development cycles with additive manufacturing
Product development in harsh conditions places high demands on materials. If the material is not suitable for the environment, the part cannot be tested in challenging environments. Utilizing 3D printing services specifically for oil and gas, rapid prototyping is possible using the required materials suitable for the harsh conditions of the oil and gas industry. It creates the possibility of conducting a pilot phase using the same manufacturing process that will be used later in the product lifecycle. Developers can design parts suitable for later field production of spare parts. Development iterations can be completed overnight, which opens up the possibility of rapidly accelerating development cycles and meeting deadlines.
High-precision rapid prototyping
Rapid prototyping is one of the outstanding benefits of 3D printing, providing a transformative advantage for R&D work in the oil and gas industry. With 3D printing, innovators can quickly transform conceptual designs into tangible prototypes for real-world testing and immediate iterative improvements. This accelerates the development of oil and gas technologies, from novel reservoir designs to efficient oil delivery systems. By drastically reducing the time and resources traditionally spent on prototyping, 3D printing accelerates the pace of innovation, ensuring that advanced oil and gas solutions are deployed to the market faster.
Complex Geometries and Lightweighting
3D printing excels at creating complex designs that are impossible with traditional manufacturing methods. In the oil and gas sector, this capability enables the manufacture of components with advanced geometries to optimize performance, such as turbine blades with internal channels to improve aerodynamics or heat dissipation. 3D printing can create lightweight structures using lattice or honeycomb designs, reducing material usage while maintaining structural integrity. This lightweighting is critical in industries such as transportation, where reducing component weight can lead to significant energy savings and efficiency gains, directly impacting the operational efficiency and environmental footprint of oil and gas systems.
Supply Chain Simplification
Designers can now produce parts or products precisely when and where they are needed, without having to maintain large inventories and long, complex supply chains. This shift brings many benefits, such as reduced warehousing costs, lower risk of overproduction and waste, and the ability to respond quickly to changes in demand or design modifications. Direct digital manufacturing with Elimold enables localized manufacturing, reducing the environmental impact of shipping goods over long distances. This on-demand production not only improves supply chain efficiency, but also provides greater flexibility to meet customer needs, making it a valuable solution for industrial designers and businesses looking to streamline operations and reduce resource consumption.
Decarbonizing Component Manufacturing and Component Supply Chains
Understanding the complexities of oil and gas industry standards is only part of the story we solve for our clients. Net zero, or achieving carbon neutrality in the hydrocarbon and energy sectors, is one of the world’s most important challenges. Elimold can help!
Many oil and gas companies are looking to achieve net zero emissions from the activities they control. But those who really want to make an impact understand that it’s not just about evaluating and improving the existing value chain; it’s doing the same with supply chain suppliers. There is no single solution, but rather multiple solutions that require change from consumers to governments to businesses. A carbon neutral approach may also allow large organizations to encourage and support smaller suppliers on the path to net zero.
Supplying parts using wire additive manufacturing reduces carbon footprint and emissions. The Elimold process reduces carbon intensity by printing in near-net shape using wire feedstock, producing significantly less material waste than billet machining. 3D printing parts using Elimold also has a significantly reduced carbon footprint compared to traditional casting and forging manufacturing methods.
Is Elimold Right for You?
If your business is looking to quickly and cost-effectively manufacture components for the oil and gas industry from super alloys and plastics, contact us today.
Benefits of 3D Printing in Oil & Gas
Rapid Prototyping of Parts
3D printing is often used to reduce the time required to develop new products for testing and validation. This is because additive manufacturing is able to prototype parts efficiently. Not only does this save time in the overall development process, AM also enables organizations to quickly adapt to market changes. This 3D technology can also benefit the oil and gas industry. By reducing the time required to produce parts in the development cycle, prototypes can be tested and validated in a timely manner before full production begins.
Generate Complex Geometries Without Restrictions
The complex machinery used in the oil and gas industry must meet strict industry standards. These complex machines often include specialized parts with complex geometries that have undercuts or hollow spaces. Traditional manufacturing of complex geometries is inefficient and requires the production of component geometries and then welding them together. In contrast, additive manufacturing can produce any complex geometry innovatively and without restrictions. The use of laser sintering in the process allows flow control and other oil and gas equipment to be manufactured as a single unit.
Print Spare Parts on Demand
The parts used in the oil and gas industry are very specialized but in low demand, making them expensive to manufacture and stock. However, these parts must be readily available for repair and maintenance of the machines. As designs improve, older parts become obsolete. This further increases the difficulty of obtaining spare parts. The timely supply and distribution of spare parts is essential to reduce long downtime. Downtime can be very costly, and many operators would rather have extra parts on hand than face delivery delays. While this drains their resources, it at least minimizes the logistical challenges of quickly distributing important parts to rigs near and far.
Additive manufacturing solves these traditional challenges faced by the oil and gas industry. Printing on demand is not only more cost-effective to manufacture these spare parts, but also reduces inventory pressure due to shorter production times. It also solves the problem of disruption caused by supplier closures.
Fast and efficient maintenance
Equipment in the oil and gas industry needs to be kept up and running. Equipment downtime can be a huge expense for companies, so downtime needs to be minimized. When equipment is located in remote areas such as oil rigs, the cost of downtime is even more prominent. 3D printing in the oil and gas industry can change this situation. When maintenance operations need to be carried out efficiently, 3D printing with Elimold can create custom tools and fixtures to ensure smooth and flexible maintenance operations.
Some stages of maintenance operations are repeated. For such operations, 3D printing in the oil and gas industry offers the possibility to create fixtures and tools that will make the process safer and more efficient. With it, the work of maintenance operators becomes more ergonomic, so the level of work safety can be improved.
Why use 3D printing for novel designs?
Novel design research aims to create parts that perform better and function more efficiently. This practice is already well established in industries such as aerospace, where aircraft parts are 3D printed to be lighter while retaining the strength characteristics of traditionally manufactured parts. 3D printing can also be used to create parts that cannot be made using traditional techniques such as casting and forging combined with traditional CNC machining.
You can use Elimold’s Oil & Gas 3D printing technology to manufacture novel designs. We have helped customers print a variety of novel designs to support various research projects.
Applications
- Custom Drill Bits: 3D printing can create drill bits with unique geometries and configurations, optimized for specific drilling conditions.
- Replacement Parts: 3D printing can be used to quickly produce replacement parts for equipment, reducing downtime and maintenance costs.
- Flow Nozzles: 3D printing can be used to create complex and precise flow nozzles for oil and gas pipelines.
- Valve Components: 3D printing can be used to produce custom precision valve components, such as valve seats and balls, for oil and gas operations.
- Production Molds: 3D printing can be used to create molds for casting complex and custom parts, such as manifold systems and pump components.
Considerations for 3D Printing in the Oil and Gas Sector
Getting 3D printed parts certified to meet industrial performance and safety standards can be a legal hurdle. Producing prototypes is one thing, producing final parts that must meet stringent safety and performance standards is another.
Another consideration is the potential infringement of intellectual property rights owned by the manufacturer. 3D printing can be done at any location, rather than at a centralized facility owned by the manufacturer or its licensees. This makes it difficult to track the licensed use of CAD data required to produce a specific part. One way to overcome this problem is to have the intellectual property owner issue a license to use the digital data.
Since 3D printing is relatively new in the oil and gas industry, it may be helpful to first identify the type or category of components that would benefit most from AM. Consulting with an experienced and knowledgeable 3D printing expert can be helpful during this process.
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