The research was designed by Dr. Pierre C Sames, Senior Vice President and Director of DNV GL Group Technology and Research, and Professor Tim White, Associate Vice President (Infrastructure & Programmes), NTU Singapore.
SnarTech Publishing, market researchers, expect that 3D printing will become a USD450 million market in the oil and gas industry by 2021, rising to USD1.4 billion by 2025.
Brice Le Gallo, Regional Manager South East Asia and Australia DNV GL – Oil & Gas and Director of the Global Additive Manufacturing Centre of Excellence in Singapore, commented that this cooperation reflects DNV GL's commitment to research and development (R&D) in 3D printing and securing the safe deployment of the technology in the maritime oil and gas, in times where technology is experiencing advances and changes.
Brice Le Gallo stated
Our work with NTU, and with the support the new academic posts will receive from DNV GL’s Group Technology and Research, will help to strengthen our Global Additive Manufacturing Technology Centre of Excellence’s relations with academia. The collaboration agreement will also help us to further develop DNV GL’s approach to verification and certification of 3D printed parts as the technology develops.
The research idea follows DNV GL's decision on investing in 3D printing in the maritime industry one year ago, alongside 10-member companies from the Singapore Ship Association.
In addition, the participants will cooperate on the potential use of spare parts produced by 3D printers to help the capital-intensive maritime industry to cut costs and downtimes.
Initiated by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, the JIP aims to establish what commonly ordered parts are highly feasible for 3D printing with or without certification respectively.
The signing ceremony at NTU was also witnessed by Brice Le Gallo, Regional Manager South East Asia and Australia DNV GL – Oil & Gas and Director of the Global Additive Manufacturing Centre of Excellence in Singapore, and Professor Chua Chee Kai, Executive Director of NTU’s Singapore Centre for 3D Printing.
Concluding, two new doctoral student (PhD) positions are being created through the Industrial Postgraduate Programme, supported by the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) and DNV GL. A further full time Research Fellow post is also being created at NTU’s Singapore Centre for 3D Printing.
