Russian Maritime Register of Shipping (RS) introduces requirements for additive manufacturing(AM) products applied in shipbuilding.
The relevant Circular Letter(No. 314-01-1452c) is accessible at rs-class.org in the Online Information–RS Circulars section and enters into force on December 1, 2020.
The document amends Part XIII Materials of Rules for the Classification and Construction of Sea-Going Ships and integrates the requirements covering semi-finished, finished and alternative products manufactured from metallic materials by additive synthesis methods.
As the Circular enters into force, these products will be permitted for the manufacturing of hull structural members, parts of machinery, arrangements/gearing and other ship’s class-related components.
The new Circular provides the general scheme of survey, scope and procedures for AM products testing and for manufacturers recognition, including the scope of application of the manufacturers recognition certificate.
“The requirements have been developed as a result of longstanding R&D in cooperation with one of the leading cross sector materials research center Prometey of the national research center Kurchatov Institute. A number of steel grades and titanium alloys samples have been additively synthesized by the Institute under RS supervision. Subsequently, their testing and comparative analysis of their structure, mechanical and other properties versus the properties of equal in terms of chemical composition but conventionally obtained alloys took place. Implementation of the RS requirements allows to adopt this advanced method for systematical manufacture of materials and products for marine industry,” RS Hull Department senior expert Maxim Yurkov comments.
Currently, research centers and leading global companies turn their attention on additive technologies. As RS expert explained, application of 3D printing enables to manufacture materials most closely approximate to the form of the final product. Possibility to manufacture details of any forms, and, as a consequence, to reduce the manufacturing costs for complex assemblies of mechanical equipment and systems is among the advantages of the method. Additive synthesis tool is also a future solution for the manufacture of composite products of different grades or types of metals(with no limits in terms of number and combinations of components) providing a possibility for gradient flow from one material into the other and enabling to improve the hardness and strength properties in the designated product areas. The new AM technologies open new frontiers in design and engineering.