DNV GL will establish a Global Additive Manufacturing Centre of Excellence in Singapore which will serve as an incubator and testbed for research and development of additive manufacturing technology for the oil & gas, offshore and marine (O&M) sector.

The new centre, which is supported by the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), will focus on developing competence including qualification, certification and training for additive manufacturing (AM), also known as 3D printing.

While AM is raising more and more interest in various industries, as the benefits of speed and cost against traditional product manufacturing become apparent, the adoption level in the O&M sector is still low due to challenges in qualification and certification. DNV GL aims to enable the adoption of this new technology in the O&M sector by providing the industry with technical standards and guidelines for qualifying and certifying AM equipment, processes, products, materials and personnel.

The facility aims to become DNV GL’s global competence and service delivery centre for assurance and advisory services in 3D printing and allied technologies for Ship, Offshore and Oil & Gas industry sectors, and has the potential to enhance Singapore’s vision to be positioned as a world leader in this technology and be recognized as an integrated global additive manufacturing hub.

DNV GL will invest in competence development and will be working with local research institutes and industry partners through joint collaborations to advance the use of AM.

“The establishment of the centre is timely due to the rising interest in adopting Additive Manufacturing.  With our long track record in R&D and strong position in developing industry technical standards, DNV GL’s Global Additive Manufacturing Centre of Excellence will play a catalytic role in the oil & gas, offshore and marine sector,” said Remi Eriksen, group president & CEO, DNV GL.

“DNV GL’s Global Additive Manufacturing Centre of Excellence (CoE) will help enhance the manufacturing competitiveness of Singapore’s marine and offshore engineering industry. This CoE will join a growing ecosystem of advanced manufacturing technology providers in Singapore, attracted by our vibrant and diversified manufacturing sector. We welcome this investment from DNV GL and look forward to our continued partnership,” said Lim Kok Kiang, assistant managing director of Singapore EDB.

“We are committed to building a centre that will contribute to helping Singapore create a vibrant Additive Manufacturing ecosystem. The competence and knowledge gained through research and development and advisory engagement with our customers will support Singapore to maintain its competitive edge in the global Offshore & Marine market,” said Brice Le Gallo, regional manager, South East Asia and Australia.

DNV GL has been investigating the opportunities and challenges posed by AM in the O&M sector since 2014. Last November, DNV GL published the first guideline for the use of AM in the maritime and oil & gas industries, creating a clear pathway and systematic processes to assess every parameter that will impact upon the final products – from the raw material used, technology maturity, manufacturing procedure, data transfer, to the actual printing and post processing.

Through the newly established centre, DNV GL is running the recently announced collaboration with Sembcorp Marine, SIMTech and NAMIC to develop and certify laser aided additive manufacturing (LAAM) technology in fabricating large-scale structures for newbuild vessels in Singapore. DNV GL is also working with Aurora Labs from Australia to develop an AM certification standard that will cover its whole value chain from powders to parts, certifying the technical performance of their technology, and independently endorsing their processes and products. A Joint Industry Project (JIP) is also underway aiming at defining clear requirements for parts manufactured by additive manufacturing. DNV GL has joined forces with key stakeholders to develop project guidelines enabling the safe introduction of additive manufacturing to the Oil & Gas and maritime industry.