Rotterdam additive manufacturing project advances

RAMLAB defined a specific product focus for its first Joint Industry Project (JIP): The rapid manufacturing of certified relatively large metal parts using wire arc additive manufacturing.

Additive manufacturing technology, also known as 3D printing, has technical advantages as well as being cheaper and safer to operate in relation to other laser based systems.

The multi-million euro project aims to help port-related companies accelerate development in the field and collaborate on maritime applications.

A consortium consisting of the Port of Rotterdam, Innovation Quarter and RDM Makerspace completed the pilot project earlier this year. More than 15 companies are involved in the second stage. The consortium requested the participation of Lloyd’s Register (LR) in the project for the purpose of verifying that the manufacturing process would be able to consistently meet all applicable requirements.

Ron van Ierseal, lead specialist of equipment and components at LR, participated in the project on behalf of LR, he will continue to support the project by participating in the new JIP.

The project is one of eleven fieldlabs established by Smart Industry, a partnership comprising the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Confederation of Netherlands Industry and Employers (VNO-NCW), the Association of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering (FME), the Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research (TNO), the Chamber of Commerce and ICT Nederland.