Danish 3D printing company ‘Create it REAL’, announced the first 3D print pilot project with Green Ship of the Future consortium in Denmark. The project is part of the Green Ship and explores on board printing and related challenges in the existing technology.
The partners that represent the majority of the supply chain around spare parts include: J. Lauritzen, Maersk Line, Maersk Tankers, Maersk Drilling, MAN Diesel & Turbo, DNV GL, Copenhagen Business School and Create it real. The project is funded by the Danish Maritime Fund.
The goal of onboard printing is to decrease the amount of spare parts carried on board, and allow for an as-needed repair and production. It also provides the possibility to make the latest updated version of a spare part instantly as designed by the maker.
Sverre Patursson Vange from J. Lauritzen stated: “3D printing technology is developing rapidly and we believe it is ready for utilization in the maritime industry. However, the harsh environment and the top priority to safety calls for precautions why we are very pleased to have DNV GL, MAN Diesel & Turbo and Create it REAL participating in the project to address these issues.”
Furthermore, 3D printing can have important savings potential in terms of CO2 and cost. But besides those, IP and safe transmission of files are also among the key matters to address, when considering the adoption of 3D printing.
Based on the worldwide first real-time processor dedicated to 3D printing, ‘Create it REAL’ platform can be incorporated into any FFF 3D printer. It can provide high print speed and secured file decryption directly on the printer, with only the crew being able to access the original files.
The cooperation will begin by delivering secured 3D printers in different locations as well as training tools and videos, so each crew can learn the whole process independently.
“This should not be opposed to the open source world where thousands of designers are creating and happy to share their files with others. Creative Commons licenses are here to help people to understand what they can or cannot do. This should be seen more as a complementary approach for specific applications and allow more people, brands, companies to enter the 3D printing revolution,” ‘Create it REAL’ notes.